A Little More Than Friends
by Kavi Leighanna
Summary: Cases evolve to include haunting pasts. Unfortunately for Aiden, those haunting pasts are about to pay her a brutal visit.
1. All Over A Case

**A Little More Than Friends**

**Spoilers:** American Dreamers: Skeleton found on a double-decker bus

**Summary: **Another look at a Danny/Aiden ending for American Dreamers. Slightly AU by the end (I think) and it will continue.

**Pairing:** Danny/Aiden eventually.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you recognize. That would include characters places and cases unless otherwise stated. They belong to CBS and those other bu… great people that are copyright holders of CSI:NY

**Author's Note: **This is my first CSI:NY fic and it is AU by the end. Furthermore, I'm taking a little bit of a creative lisence when I say they have a connection and most things about their friendship.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_All Over a Case_

* * *

Danny Messer watched the brunette at the end of the table as he moved the print brush across the metal pipe, his mouth quirking up at the obvious anxiousness and impatience.

"A real fully intact human skull…" He almost laughed but knew an anxious Aiden Burn was one not to be messed with. Finally, Mac gave Aiden the nod she was waiting for. A grin blossomed over her face; one Danny noticed lit up her eyes. He rolled his eyes, his back turned to her, scanning the print he'd scrounged up off of the pipe. She was the proverbial kid in the candy store as she all but skipped out of the room, heading for the coroners.

* * *

_God,_ she thought, dunking the skull to clean it. _This is what I love._

It wasn't everyday she got the chance to use facial reconstruction, her personal favourite and consequently her specialty, to benefit a case. She was focused, so much so and so close to completing the face, that the opening and closing of the door escaped her. Danny, who'd noticed her on his way past, leaned just inside the door, watching her. Finally, feeling eyes on her, she looked around, smirking as they settled on Danny.

"In your element, I see," he quipped, pushing away from the frame. Aiden flashed him a cocky smile turning back to the work ahead of her. He continued to watch as she put the finishing touches on the face, admiring the way her hands smoothed in some places and others, too small for hands, were perfected with tools.

"Don't you have something to do?" she asked, nervous in his presence. She also preferred to construct in solitude. Danny gave her his half smile.

"Yeah, but I thought I'd drop in. You hungry?" Aiden looked at him like he'd grown extra heads. He motioned to her head.

"When you're done." Inside, his reaction matched Aiden's surprise. However, the butterflies calmed substantially as he watched her eyes light up in delight, even if her face stayed impassive.

"Sure. I'll find you when I'm done

* * *

True to her word, Aiden found him a half an hour later, processing the clothes that had been found in the recesses of an alley beside a bus terminal. He looked up, suddenly struck with how beautiful she was, or rather reminded. She was still in her lab coat, hair tied back and the biggest grin on her face. 

"Ready to head out?" she asked, happiness laced in her voice. Danny nodded.

"Remind me next time you're ticked to get you a fully intact human skull," he teased her. She hit him lightly.

"It's so rare," she replied, voice slightly wistful as they made their way to the locker room. Flack passed them in the hall, waving a hello on his way to the waiting room. They grinned back, Danny holding in his laughter at Aiden's childish delight. They laughed about little things in the locker room as they exchanged the protective lab gear for protective warmth.

"It's sad," Aiden said suddenly as they sat eating lunch in a small deli down the street from the crime lab. Danny looked up.

"What's sad, Aid?"

"No body's looking for that kid."

"Stella said a mother and father came in looking for their son." Aiden shrugged, tearing off a piece of her bun. It showed Danny she wasn't sure that was any good.

"What if it's not? I mean, there's only so much a facial reconstruction can do. We've put out the picture in every newspaper, every media branch we've got…" she trailed off, focusing on her sandwich again.

"We're not always going to be able to identify everyone." She looked up, meeting concerned blue eyes and gave him a weak smile. They lapsed into silence, Aiden thinking about a time long ago and Danny watching her carefully.

"What happened to the Aiden that was excited to get her hands on a human skull?" Aiden shrugged.

"Okay, enough. No more brooding," he ordered, moving his empty plate to the end of the table. She raised an eyebrow, mouth opening to reply. The ring of a cell phone cut her off. It was Danny's phone.

"Messer." He listened for a few moments as Aiden sat back in her seat, waiting patiently for him to finish. He soon said his goodbyes and hung up.

"Mac. Something about a watch, a security camera and a pawn shop. You okay to head back?" Aiden nodded, depositing a few bills on the table. Danny did the same and they began the short walk to the office. The streets were busy and so Danny placed a hand on her back, more so to make sure he didn't lose her than to guide or caress, but Aiden still felt the heat of his hand. She was slightly – and surprisingly – disappointed when he removed his hand as they stepped into the building.

"We should do that again," she found herself saying. Danny nodded, in complete agreement.

"That we should. I'll see you, Aid." He was gone. Aiden pulled off her coat and hung it up, flopping back on the bench. She rested her elbows on her thighs and her head in her hands. She had a crush on Danny Messer. That was the only plausible explanation for her uncharacteristically loose tongue and the shivers as he guided her the few blocks to the lab. Aiden had had fun at lunch, regardless of her feelings about the case and was well and truly looking forward for the next time.

* * *

Danny, meanwhile, was only half paying attention to the computers in front of him. While he heard the questions and thoughts Mac and Stella fired off and adjusted the tape accordingly, his mind was on Aiden. He was concerned with her reaction to the case. 

"Guitar!" That was all Danny got from the conversation before Stella and Mac left the room. He was confused until he watched the tape for himself and noticed the shady looking guy the camera was focused on pluck guitar strings out of the line of sight.

"What? No porn?" Danny looked up into Aiden's teasing gaze, mentally sighing in relief as she took a seat beside him. This way he didn't have to crane his neck to look at her.

"Security tape from a pawn shop," he supplied, ignoring her jab. Aiden nodded, leaning back in the chair. Danny watched her out of the corner of his eye, knowing from her posture that she was still slightly upset. He gave her time.

"Still no ID?" she asked suddenly, not really paying attention to the screens. Danny shook his head, stopping the tape and facing her.

"The parents are still here though. They insist your reconstruction isn't their son." Aiden nodded looking away from him. This was new. Aiden never avoided people eyes, especially not his. They'd had a connection since the moment they started working together.

"Aiden?"

"No one's looking for him, are they?" she whispered. Danny was confused at her reply.

"Hey," he started, leaning forward to look her in the eye. Aiden stood in a fluffy, turning away from Danny. He, however, followed her, never more excited about the lack of windows in the AV lab. He was sure Aiden would be just as happy.

"What's going on, Aiden?" he asked her, his hands on her shoulders. He felt the tenseness of her muscles. Aiden wouldn't reply. Therefore, in his compassion that for her was an endless well, he turned her into his chest, holding her close and letting her choose when to talk. What he didn't expect were the hot tears that dripped onto his neck from the strong woman in his arms.

She started to shake soon afterwards and he rubbed his hand along her back, pulling her into the shadow, completely out of sight of anyone who may pass by. It took her a few minutes to stop and he let her take her time in pushing away. When she did, she looked up at him shyly.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked softly. Aiden shook her head empathetically. Danny was fine with that.

"Okay." She wiped at the wet spot on his shoulder and Danny found himself looking at Aiden as more than a colleague.

"I got your shirt wet," she whispered, sounding remarkably like a little girl. He smiled at her.

"It's no problem, Aid," he told her honestly. His hands moved to her cheeks, wiping away the lingering wetness gently. She rewarded him with a watery smile.

"Want some time?" She shook her head.

"Okay." Aiden moved around him but he caught her before she left.

"If you want to talk, Aiden, I'm here." She favoured him with a genuine smile before acting on impulse and leaning over to kiss his cheek, lips lingering longer than a thank you from friend to friend. Danny's eyes fluttered closed for those few moments before they opened as she pulled back.

"Thanks," she whispered, leaving the AV lab and pulling the door closed behind her. Danny let out a heavy sigh mixed with concern and worry. He and Aiden had hit it off well when she walked through the lab doors and they'd settled into an easy friendship. Every once in a while they'd head out to see a movie or go out for a meal but never had they been as charged as lunch was.

_And,_ Danny mused to himself; _I must have been doing something terribly wrong to get shivers out of a friendly kiss on the cheek than..._ He was in denial and subconsciously he knew it. That was no friendly thank you kiss. But, for Aiden's sake, he wouldn't bring it up. Instead, he vowed to focus all of his energy on what was bothering her.


	2. Disturbing Revelations

**_AN: Be prepared for creative licensing and the AU stuff. Furthermore, this is the chapter I think the characters might be a little OOC (Out of Character for those first-timers)_**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Disturbing Revelations _

* * *

Aiden berated herself after she finished her shift. She'd promised herself there would be no breakdowns, that she could handle the case, even with the past it brought up but it didn't seem to work that way. After all, she wasn't all that submerged in it anyway. 

She'd been wrong. On the bright side there was no other person she would have liked to cry in front of. It was nice to see somebody so concerned.

Then she'd kissed him. It wasn't a friend kiss and it wasn't a kiss between siblings. She'd let her lips linger, let her nose absorb just that little bit more of his scent before leaving. She didn't need to see his reaction.

"Aid?" She almost groaned audibly, identifying the distinct New York accent.

"Yeah, Danny?" Aiden resisted the urge to wince at the weariness in her voice. To Danny, it was a perfect opportunity.

"What are you doing tonight?" After her collapse he had the irresistible urge to take care of her, even if it was just for the night.

"I haven't a clue," she began, the sarcasm in her voice evident. "I was thinking about sleep." Danny gave her a knee-melting grin and Aiden knew she was done for.

"I'll make you dinner," he offered gallantly. Aiden smiled weakly, giving in with a nod.

"You really want to?"

"Yeah. I'd only be eating take out anyway," Aiden told him with a seemingly careless shrug. Danny knew better and was inwardly flattered.

"Okay."

"Plus," she said with an impish grin, "I believe it's your turn."

* * *

It had substantially lightened her day. Danny had gone home to change out of his work clothes, both wordlessly deciding on her place for their meal. Aiden decided it was high time to stock up her cupboards. It had been a while since she'd cooked mostly because Mac had kept them out on cases for the better part of three weeks. 

She'd gotten home and put away the groceries, both having discussed dinner options and deciding upon spaghetti. It had been a while since they'd cooked together and Aiden was dying for Danny's spaghetti sauce. It rivalled her mothers, and that was saying something. She put the water on the stove to boil and quickly changed her clothes, pulling her hair up in a messy ponytail. It was another enjoyable thing about their relationship: there was no need to be overly formal. Track pants and a sweatshirt worked fine for both of them.

He'd knocked on her door at 5:30 and she'd absently motioned him in as she meandered back to the kitchen. However, she was quickly shooed away from the stove so Danny could begin working on his sauce. Aiden contented herself with making a salad as they discussed random things including their cases. Danny tactfully stayed away from their last one, deciding to wait until they could discuss it without interruptions of any kind.

Sitting down at her small table in the kitchen Danny was suddenly nervous. It wasn't because he was nervous about dinner with Aiden, they'd done it many times before, but he'd wanted to discuss her crying episode in the lab. He was being careful about bringing it up though, not wanting to upset her again.

"Hey Aid?" She looked up from the cheese she was dumping on her spaghetti – a horrid habit in Danny's opinion because she heaped it on almost drowning out all other tastes – a playful smile on her lips. Thoughts scatted in Danny's brain at the look but he clung desperately to the question he'd wanted to ask. The question suddenly became did he want to ruin Aiden's mood?

"Danny?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Never mind," he decided quickly. "Later." Aiden shrugged and dug into her food. They ate in companionable silence, Aiden eating quickly and Danny going through the motions as he thought.

Aiden was one of the strongest people he knew, especially in their line of work. There were times where she called him on being subjective and rarely cases where anyone questioned her objectivity. He wanted to know why, though. What had affected her so profoundly in a case to make her anything other than objective and detached? However, it wasn't something he wanted to discuss over dinner. If she started to cry again, he wanted to be beside her for comfort.

If Aiden noticed his silence, she was too caught up in admiring him to comment. She figured she might as well take advantage of the fact that he was zoned out to watch him.

As a trained investigator there were few things she missed and thus things she'd noticed about the man in front of her. Working with him had taught her many things about how Danny Messer ticked. For example, and Aiden's personal favourite, the change of his eye colour with his emotions. They were always blue, but the shade changed. When they teased each other, they were a crystal blue, something akin to sapphire, but when he was frustrated, they darkened. Aiden loved watching his eyes change.

Now, Aiden could tell, more from his posture than his eyes, something was upsetting him. She had a good idea of what it was but she wasn't sure if she was prepared to talk about it. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable conversation.

"Danny?" He looked up, meeting her concerned gaze.

"Done?" Danny ignored the question in her worried eyes and grabbed her empty plate. He took them to the sink, starting the water and reaching into the cupboard for the dish soap. He hadn't heard Aiden come up behind him and didn't notice until her hands covered his, telling him without words that she'd handle the dishes later.

"You cooked, I'll clean up," she said. "Go put in the movie." Danny was ready for this and immediately picked up the dish towel she hung on the handle of the oven. Aiden gave up.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked, her voice showing her annoyance. Danny should have guessed Aiden would pick up on his state of turmoil. He took the cloth from her hand, dropping it in the soapy water and, without releasing her hand, led her to the living room and her couch.

"I want to know what had you in tears today, Aiden," he told her frankly and honestly. Aiden inwardly rolled her eyes. She was stupid to think he'd drop the idea. Was she really ready to tell him? It was a part of her that she'd kept hidden for so long, buried so deep within her mind that she was confident it would never come up again. She'd worked other cases, neglectful parents, boarding school children, but never had she had the same reaction. They were skeletons that Aiden firmly believed were better off left in her closet.

At the same time, Aiden realized the benefits behind letting someone know. She'd dealt with it all on her own, but maybe, if Danny knew, she wouldn't have to deal with that emptiness. Neglect was not a pretty subject and was essentially taboo with her. Even with her best friends her years preceding post-secondary education was not a talked about thing.

"Aid?" She hadn't realized she'd been silent all that long, her walk down memory lane a remarkably painful one, nor had she noticed the tears that had started to leak down her face. He found himself wrapping a careful arm around her shoulders, allowing her to take her time. They were silent for a while longer.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he told her softly, honour that she was even considering it. Aiden made a split second decision. After all, she had to tell somebody and she would much rather it be Danny than the NYPD shrink when a case really got to her. How as she supposed to begin?

"My life wasn't always fun and games growing up…"

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_Eleven-year-old Aiden Burn wandered the halls of New York's prestigious Leonardo Academy for the Arts. It was her break from working her arm off drawing pictures of fruit and other such useless things. In her hand was a piece of paper, crumpled and tearstained, even as she unfolded it for the millionth time._

_**Aiden,**_

_**Your father and I will not be able to attend the year-end art show. Your father has been called to Spain on an emergency meeting that is expected to take two weeks.**_

_**Our apologies,**_

_**Petunia Burn**_

_They'd missed the show every year and it was seriously getting on Aiden's nerves. Not only that, there was no emotion in the letter at all. Her mother and father didn't care about her, they were just being courteous like they would to a client or business partner. She was a burden to them, a surprise child that her mother wouldn't abort or put up for adoption because of her morals and reputation. Now, her brother was a different story. Eleven years her senior, he was the one her parents doted on. As much as she adored her brother – they were as close as siblings could be – she resented him. She resented him because to her parents he was everything._

_She was nothing._

**End flashback

* * *

**

The story of her life, of her neglect, had spanned two hours with only the occasional comment from Danny or point of clarification. She was numb now, decidedly having no more tears to cry. Silence had settled over them after Aiden had finished mostly because Danny couldn't think of anything to say. To him, Aiden had always been the strong one, always detached and focused on the job, never straying from the beaten path. Now, he scolded himself for being stupid and not noticing anything sooner.

He liked to believe Aiden was one of his best, if not his best, friends. They'd learned to read each other quickly and thus made a dynamic team. But that uncanny ability to know the other had Danny worried at times. Aiden was a master at hiding her feelings, a real blank book, and times when Danny saw something and wanted to question it were gone in the blink of an eye.

He felt her drifting off to sleep on his shoulder, both of his arms having wrapped securely around her for support during her story. He picked her up and carried her to her bed but she wouldn't let go. Her eyes fluttered open and met his. He was caught. Aiden's eyes were full of real, true and raw pain and it took a few moments – it was late and had been a hard shift – for Danny to completely understand.

"I'm not leaving you alone, Aiden. I'll see you at work tomorrow, I promise." Still Aiden wouldn't let go of where her arms had anchored themselves around his neck.

"Stay?" she whispered, sounding remarkably lost. Danny sighed and sent a few choice words up to the one that had left him in this predicament. But he wouldn't let her down.

"Okay," he answered, "but you've got to let go, sweetheart." Aiden's insides melted at the unintentional endearment. She let go reluctantly and saw his form in the dark pulling off the sweatshirt he wore. She was glad she'd changed upon getting home, knowing the sweatpants and t-shirt she was wearing was comfortable enough to sleep in.

"I'm just going down to the washroom," he told her, like telling a child who'd had a nightmare. Of course, decidedly that's what her past was. Aiden watched him leave and close the door behind him. Her logical adult side scolded her for holding on so tight but the momentarily louder little girl in her pushed her to hold on and never let go. She began to pace the length of the room.

Meanwhile, Danny took a look at himself in the mirror. Could he really spend a platonic night with Aiden Burn? A lot of things had changed since they'd originally met and started to work together. He would be lying if he said he hadn't been attracted to her that first day, but he worked with her and as a result had tamped down the attraction. Unfortunately, that hadn't helped him. He found her intriguing and she never failed to surprise him with her intuition or skill. This latest revelation, however, had thrown him for a never-ending loop. He'd never guessed this would come from Aiden.

There were things well known about the enigma known as Aiden Burn and others that he was the only one privileged enough to know. It was common knowledge that she got along with her brother swimmingly but it was privileged knowledge that she disliked going to her parents'. Now it was privileged knowledge to know why.

"Danny?" her voice accompanied the knock on the bathroom door. He jumped, not realized how long she'd been waiting. Psyching himself up for a night beside his best friend and secret love, he took a deep breath and opened the door. Immediately, she threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, placing a gentle kiss on her temple as he adjusted them for the walk back to her bedroom. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, one of his over her shoulders. Her head was pillowed comfortably on his shoulder. They walked that way back to her room and Aiden waited in the dark – they hadn't bothered with lights – until he was comfortable. Then, she joined him.

It didn't take her long to drift off but Danny, always the best friend and eternal protector, wasn't going to leave. Instead, he set his internal alarm clock for an hour earlier than usual before closing his eyes and trying to ignore the fact that Aiden Burn was curled in his arms.


	3. I Want This

**_I would like to point out that I have changed this chapter from its original thanks to all of the reviewers. For my first NY fic, you guys have been awesome._ **

**NOTE: the crime scene and case are not mine. I didn't make them up. They're actually from CSI Vegas. "No Humans Involved" is the case… Sara has issues with a dead kid in huge black Tupperware bin. If you remember, superb, if not, I wouldn't worry all that much.

* * *

**

**Chapter 3**

_I Want This_

Aiden woke in the morning with a pounding headache, an after affect of tears and emotional revelations, only to find herself alone in bed. However, upon a closer sniff, she smelled something that made her mouth water. French toast and not just any French toast, Danny's French toast.

It was a well-kept secret that one of Aiden's main weaknesses was pretty much any of Danny's cooking, but her very favourite was his breakfasts. She couldn't help the grin that blossomed over her face. She'd seriously expected him to leave, especially since they had to work today. Her bedside clock read 9:45…

"What the hell!"

In the kitchen, Danny smiled to himself and hoped Aiden wasn't going to kill him for not waking her up. He'd ended up sleeping over the time of his internal alarm and had awoken to hers instead. He'd turned it off quickly and smiled down at his best friend who'd slept though the loud beeping. In theory, it wasn't the best thing to do, let her sleep, and he knew he'd pay for it later, but emotional revelations required some serious recuperation time, time which he knew Aiden wouldn't take.

Instead, he'd contented himself with a shower and some pointless television before starting in on breakfast, remembering to call Mac and let him know Aiden hadn't been feeling well last night – not a complete lie – and they were both going to be late. Originally, Mac had questioned why both of them were coming in late. Well practised in dealing with his boss, and knowing Mac knew he and Aiden were not only two of the most responsible CSIs he worked with but also the best of friends, Danny had simply explained he was worried.

He was pulled from his musing by a frantic Aiden rushing into the kitchen.

"What the hell is going on? We are so late! Mac is going to murder us…" Danny only chuckled lightly.

"I fail to see the humour in this Messer," she pouted. Danny grinned and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back, her face turned up to his. As Danny looked at her, his eyes level with her forehead, he groaned mentally. Even still rumpled from sleep, Aiden pushed his control. He was pretty sure she wasn't interested in him, after all, she and Flack seemed to have something going, but that didn't stop him from wanting to kiss her.

She saw it flash in his eyes, something unreadable and virtually unrecognizable. He deserved the biggest thank you in the world for dealing with her and listening to the world of hell she'd been through. Acting on impulse, she kissed his cheek as she pulled away.

"Do I have time for a shower?" He grinned at her, even as his insides had sparked upon the touch of her lips.

"Probably. Just don't take too long. I told Mac we wouldn't be too late." She nodded and headed back the way she'd come. Once he heard the bathroom door close, he allowed himself to relax. This was going to be a long day.

She exited the bathroom no more than fifteen minutes later, hair still wet but pulled back from her face, knowing she wouldn't have enough time to dry it. Danny had a plate all set out for her, even if he was cleaning up his own.

"Mac called while you were getting beautiful. You and I have a DB in a Tupperware container." Aiden winced, motioning to her breakfast. He grinned at her.

"You're a CSI, Aid. You can deal with death talk at breakfast. Anyway, I'm going to head home to change. I'll meet you there?" Aiden nodded as she took another bite of her French toast. She swallowed quickly.

"Address?" He handed her a piece of paper on his way to the door. She followed him, holding the door as he stepped into the hall. He turned to face her.

"Aiden?" She smiled at him softly.

"You've done so much, Danny. Thanks." He nodded, stepping back to kiss her forehead affectionately.

"For you, anything."

And he meant it, with all of his heart.

* * *

She called him when she got to the crime scene.

"You going to be long?" she questioned, impatient to get to work on the Tupperware bin in front of her. Flack was standing beside her, chuckling at her impatience. She could hear his grin in his voice before she saw him, walking towards her, his silver kit in his hand. He shrugged, hanging up the phone.

"I figured you wouldn't mind. The door was open." She smacked his arm playfully even as she crouched beside the black bin.

"Garbage pick up found the box and dropped it. The lid came off and the kid fell out. Neighbour says her name is Shannon Palmer, 12. Said something about an aunt who's out at work." Both Aiden and Danny nodded absently, already starting to process the outside of the container. Finally, upon having nothing else but the inside to work with, Aiden stood surveying the scene around them.

"I hate secondary scenes," she pouted, hands on hips. Danny couldn't help the grin that blossomed over his face.

"Do you think the good old coroner would mind if we took the lid off?" Aiden shook her head affectionately.

"He'll be here, Danny, you just need patience." Danny only gave her a mischievous grin, already working the top out from under the girl. The bin was tipped on its side, such that the girl was sprawled on the ground. She was on her stomach, but her ribs were sticking out from her sides and her arms were bony sticks.

"Kind of straight forward, don't you think?" he asked conversationally. Aiden took in the body, generally thin, with an inward shiver. Finally, she shrugged.

"Could be. I'm still waiting for the post," she answered, already beginning to collect the evidence bags from where they were scatted across the scene. They both knew she was avoiding conversation quite content to play in pretend ignorance for a while. Danny, however, knew Aiden all too well and vowed to make a conversation of this later on. He knew she was dancing around the issue that was plaguing her. She was still raw from her memories last night and Danny mentally scolded Mac for sending them out on the case. At the same time, Danny really couldn't blame Mac for doing it. He didn't know.

"You want to head back? I'll wait for Sheldon." Aiden shot him a grateful look.

"I'll get these prints running through AFIS."

"What are you doing for lunch?" The question came out as nonchalant as he could make it. Aiden shrugged.

"Depends where we are on the case," she answered, turning her back for a reprieve. "I'll see you back at the lab."

* * *

Between Dr. Hawkes and himself, Danny found himself in the morgue, decidedly without Aiden. He hadn't seen her since he'd come back from the crime scene, but he'd been caught up with other things. Mac had pulled him aside when he'd returned and asked about Aiden, citing her unusual gusto as worrisome material. Danny had shrugged, but had filed the information away.

"Well she starved to death. Skin is pulled tight around the ribs, her stomach contents were virtually nonexistent." He lifted a container from a side counter and handed it to Danny. There was nothing in the container except a few chips.

"Any idea what they are?" The coroner shrugged and turned back to the body.

"Hepatic steatosis, ketoacidosis, rhabdomyolysis… all consistant signs of starvation. The body digested itself, muscles, fat, and organs."

"We're talking weeks," Danny said, disgust lacing his voice. Sheldon nodded. Danny sent a prayer to anyone listening that Aiden would be okay. Danny met Sheldon's eyes.

"Thanks doc."

* * *

Danny found Aiden with her head down on a layout table in the lab. He approached carefully, not wanting to disturb her and set her off.

"Aiden?" She looked up, eyes red-rimmed.

"Ran all of the trace from the scene. Doc tell you about the body?" She was all business. Danny rolled his eyes, something she caught.

"What?"

"Later. You okay to break? I need a breather." Aiden shrugged.

"We've got nothing?"

"Flack's going to page us when he's found the aunt." He conveniently left out the trace Dr. Hawkes had given him. She nodded, following him to the locker room where they both stripped off their lab coats. They made their way outside, strolling leisurely down the street. Finally, Danny stopped, turning her to face him.

"Are you sure you should be doing this, Aid?"

"You don't trust me?"

"You know I'd trust you with my life, Aiden, that's not the point. After what you told me last night, are you sure you should be on a case like this?"

"You think I can't handle this!"

"I know you could handle this on a regular day, Aiden, but this isn't a regular day. You're memories aren't buried; they're fresh in your mind. Are you sure you're going to be able to handle this objectively?" Aiden glared petulantly but her response, or lack of, gave him hope. Aiden closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. As much as she hated it, he made a good point. Her memories were remarkably fresh. For most of her other cases, it didn't matter, she was a professional and her memories were already firmly buried in her mind and stayed there. However, with her revelations last night, they were too fresh for her to really work this case objectively. Nevertheless, she was in too deep now. She was too attached to let go. Aiden looked up at Danny her eyes determined.

"I want this case, Danny." He was stupid to think she'd say anything else. He sighed heavily. Then he made a split second decision.

"This means a hell of a lot of hovering, Aid." Her gaze didn't waver.

"Then so be it."


	4. Do it Again

**Chapter 4**

_Do it Again_

Aiden looked up at the ceiling of her bedroom that night, pondering the death of Shannon Palmer. The things they knew, while not reflective of her particular situation, chilled Aiden to the bone.

She hated feeling vulnerable, feeling useless or overemotional. She liked to pride herself on staying unemotional in cases, regardless of how they may have hit her, regardless of how emotional most people got.

Even when she closed her eyes, her memories haunted her. She didn't think of moments as much as she remembered feelings. Loneliness, despair and the empty feeling of being unloved. Finally, it became too much for her and she reached for the phone on her bedside table. She blindly dialled, not really registering which numbers she was pressing but hoping they were the right ones that would connect her to her brother.

"Danny Messer," came the groggy voice over the phone. Aiden almost groaned at her stupidity and for a split second considered just hanging up.

"I'm… I'm sorry Danny. I … I was looking for my brother. I…" she stopped looking down at her lap even though he couldn't see her.

"Well, he's not here. Aiden, are you okay?" Aiden weighed her options carefully. She could tell Danny she was lonely and needed someone to be there with her or she could lie and call her brother. She bit the bullet, tears clouding her vision.

"I just…" She couldn't make her voice work.

"Okay. I'm on my way." She couldn't say no. They hung up and Aiden pulled herself out of bed. She puttered around in the kitchen, trying to keep her mind off her memories. The knock came 20 minutes later, when she'd started overanalysing what was wrong with her.

"Aiden?" She tried not to race to the door and had to tell herself to breathe. Danny didn't hesitate in pulling her into his comforting embrace. They stood like that for a few moments giving Aiden time to suck in the comfort. She pulled back, finally, blotting tears from the corners of her eyes with her finger.

"I'm really sorry to wake you up like that," she told him, secretly pleased he hadn't relinquished his hold on her. He gave her a careless shrug.

"No problem."

"Seriously, Danny, thank you. You don't know how much this means." She couldn't look him in the eye, still fully against showing even him her weakness. Danny lifted her chin with his hand as he kicked the door shut.

"I'm here, Aiden," he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead. She smiled at him and took his hand. Danny agreed with her silent request to get some sleep and followed her to the bedroom.

* * *

Aiden and Danny were both awoken by Aiden's alarm clock the next morning. Neither were really morning people and Aiden was exceptionally tired after her generally sleepless night. That wasn't even mentioning how she didn't want to leave the comfortable cocoon of Danny's embrace. Danny was the first to stumble out of bed to the bathroom. Aiden almost thanked him for giving her a few minutes more blissful sleep. Aiden took over the bathroom when he was done, opting against a shower and pulling her hair into a ponytail. 

"Aiden? I'm going to head home to change," Danny called through the door. Aiden finished up quickly. He was gathering his coat. Aiden opened the door, leaning against the frame as he shrugged into the coat. He looked up at her when he was done, concern more than evident.

"Are you going to be okay?" She took the time to think about it.

"Yeah. I'm going to be okay." She knew he'd pick up on the unsaid message.

_I'm going to be okay. I'm not right now, but I will be._

He stood with his hands in his coat pockets looking like he wanted to say something more. Aiden waited patiently but it never came.

"Danny?" His eyes focused on her again.

"Thanks," she said softly. Danny nodded understanding all Aiden didn't say. She approached him, hugging him tight. Danny held her just as close, not ready to let her go.

He found that feeling came a little bit more often, though the yearning to protect her had amplified since her first break down in the AV lab. He wanted to make sure she would never have to cry again, make sure she would never be alone. Did he love her? Of course, it was something he's understood for a while. But so many things stood in their way.

Finally they pulled back, Aiden kissing his cheek in the process. He left without another word.

"It's nice to see you with a good man at last, dear." Aiden turned to the voice and found her elderly neighbour, Mrs. Cooper.

"I'm not dating him, Mrs. Cooper. He's my best friend." Even as the words tumbled from her mouth Aiden felt herself wishing the first wasn't true. It had become a subconscious reaction by this time.

"But you want to." Aiden silently cursed the woman for her perception.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cooper, I need to get ready for work." The elderly woman nodded her head sagely and Aiden knew Mrs. Cooper believed Aiden was only looking for a way out of the conversation. Aiden, however, wouldn't question it and closed her apartment door, leaning against it to gather her balance.

Meanwhile, Danny had heard the whole conversation just out of their sight down the stairs. He smiled. While she hadn't agreed with her neighbour she hadn't disagreed either.

_Maybe after the case…_

* * *

Aiden and Danny met in a layout room, or more accurately Danny found Aiden in one of the layout rooms pouring over pictures. 

"How can they let a kid starve to death?" she asked rhetorically. Danny shrugged. Aiden shook her head in confusion.

"Have you talked to Flack about that relative?" Danny asked, switching gears. Aiden nodded.

"Said he was going to find her first thing this morning. He'll call when he's going to bring her in."

"So until then all we can do is go over the nothing we've got."

"Database kicked out a last known address. She's in the system. The thing is it's no where near where we found her." Danny looked at her, a gleam in his eyes.

"Let's go pay them a visit, huh?"

"It's better than waiting here with these." They made quick work of piling the pictures back in the folder and called Flack as they climbed into one of the department issue cars.

* * *

Flack, to Aiden's astonishment, met them at the home. 

"Owner is Sarah Marks. Foster home." Aiden raised her eyebrows wondering how Flack knew that.

"Yeah, Shannon was in the system," Danny replied.

"This just keeps getting more and more interesting," Aiden quipped. Flack knocked on the door. A woman answered, a young boy on her hip.

"We're here about Shannon Palmer."

"She hasn't lived her for almost a year," the woman responded. "Mom came to pick her and her two siblings up nine months ago. I haven't heard from them since." Aiden almost screamed in frustration.

"Did you get the name of the woman?" Danny asked, surprising both Aiden and Flack.

"Um… Fortune was what Shannon called her. Aunt Fortune." The officers said their thank you's and left.

"How much do you want to bet 'Fortune' isn't a real name?" Aiden asked rhetorically.

"I'd bet my salary that's the aunt we're looking for," Flack shot back, climbing in to the police vehicle. Danny paused before he got into the car.

"Shannon has two siblings," he said, voice musing. Aiden's eyes opened wide.

"Do you think…?" She didn't want to think about the chance the siblings had met the same fate as their sister. Danny wrapped an arm around her shoulders before making his way to the opposite side of the car.

"We'll find them first." Aiden nodded and opened her door. They drove for a bit before Aiden spoke again.

"I don't want them to have to deal with it." It took Danny a moment to realize what she was talking about. He reached out a hand and took hers for comfort.

"We'll find them, Aid." She squeezed his hand when they stopped at a red light until she got his attention. He look was childish, like a little girl, but her eyes held a forced playfulness.

"Promise?" Danny grinned, regardless of how hard he tried not to.

"Promise."

* * *

It was another two hours before Flack let them know he'd found the aunt and had her in interrogation. Danny was apprehensive about the interrogation and how Aiden was going to handle it. However, he knew Aiden wouldn't sit aside and do nothing. That didn't mean he wasn't going to take one last shot. 

"Aiden –"

"No."

"Are –"

"Yes."

"I can't –"

"No, Danny."

"Seriously Aiden…" She sighed heavily stopping him outside the interrogation room.

"We give the families of victims closure when we put these people away, Danny. This could be the first step towards mine." He had to give her credit because she made a good point, one that he hadn't thought of.

"One slight indication, Aid," he warned.

"And you can kick me out," she promised with a saucy grin. He loved that grin and couldn't curb his impulse this time. Her recent vulnerability had him resisting the urge to pull her close and never let go. She covered her pain and he wanted her to know she didn't have to hide behind masks around him. He took a split second before walking into the interrogation room to bend and touch his lips to hers in a quick kiss. He didn't stay to watch her reaction but turned and entered the interrogation room. He was lucky there was no one around.

Aiden's brain took a few minutes to register what had happened in that moment. Danny had kissed her, seriously kissed her. She'd felt the tension between them growing over his protective streak –_ since you kissed his cheek in the lab,_ her mind told her – and subconsciously knew it would blow soon. What she had expected, however, was an explosion, nothing like the light touch of his lips that was the result. She'd only gotten a slight indication of his intentions in his eyes…

She wanted it to happen again.


	5. I Won't Apologize

**Chapter 5**

_I Won't Apologize_

* * *

"Fortune." Danny shook his head. "They have better names for hookers in the redneck towns." The woman in front of him snorted.

"What do you know?" Danny pulled out a picture from the file he'd set on the table.

"You know this girl?" She glanced at the picture.

"Nope."

"Try again. You remember your niece." She took another long look and her eyes widened.

"Shannon?"

"You sound surprised."

"I… I haven't seen her in two weeks." Danny didn't believe a word and by the look on Flack's face, neither did he.

"You never changed her address," Danny pointed out, in the back of his mind beginning to worry about where Aiden was. The woman in front of him rolled her eyes.

"My sister dropped them off. Said she picked them up from a foster home and that they needed to stay somewhere for a while. She went into rehab for some substance."

"So what? You were so bitter about getting dropped with three kids so you starved 'em?"

"I left for work one day and when I came back, the kids were gone. My boyfriend said someone had come to get them. I assumed it was my sister and didn't think anything of it." That piqued Danny's interest.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Flack stepped in here.

"We're going to need a name," he said, his voice brooking no argument. Lucky for them, 'Fortune' seemed more than happy to cooperate.

"Ben Finnes," she told them. Danny nodded, looking to the door as it opened. Aiden strolled in, her face impassive. After her shock in the hall, she hadn't planned on taking part in the interrogation and she knew better than to interrupt during questioning. Instead, she listened from the observation room until a lab intern notified her of skin tag evidence from the bin. She'd sent the tech back for a swab before venturing into the dim room.

"We're going to need a DNA sample," she said, holding out the swab, "and a hair sample." She submitted willingly.

"I swear I didn't do anything," she said.

"This will prove it," Danny answered, taking the offered swab from Aiden.

* * *

Aiden sat in the break room, beyond frustrated. The DNA hadn't been a match to the hair tag and she wanted to scream. Not only that, she and Danny hadn't gotten a chance to see each other since the interrogation. He had some explaining to do, but he'd been out chasing leads on a simple B&E with Stella while she'd been stuck with paperwork. The last time they'd talked was when he told her he was leaving and managed to extract a promise from her not to leave the lab to go to a scene for the case without him.

Her phone interrupted further musings.

"Burn."

"Finished. You want to take a look at that house?" Danny's voice floated over the connection. They'd gotten permission from 'Fortune' – Marcie Parker – to look all through the house she shared with her boyfriend, but had gotten a warrant just to be sure. It was, after all, Shannon's last known place of residence1. Aiden looked around at the papers scattered over the table, realizing she'd basically taken over the room. It explained why no one had entered in the last little while.

"Might be a good idea to get out for a bit," she answered, trying to sound nonchalant, like she wasn't anxious to talk to him. Meanwhile, her heart was hammering a mile a minute and her stomach was flipping more than an Olympic gymnast.

"We'll head out as soon as I get back. I'll even feed you." Aiden grinned and chuckled.

"Deal," she agreed.

Asdf

For the first time in a while, Aiden was nervous. She wasn't sure why, which was the annoying part. She was scribbling her last signature on a report when Danny entered.

"Shall we?" he said gallantly, holding out his hand. Aiden shook her head, wondering what had contributed to his new mood. She took his hand and he pulled her out of the chair. They made quick work of organizing and filing the reports.

"I'll go drop these off at filing and meet you out at the car?" she asked, not meeting his eyes as she piled the folders on top of each other.

"It's on the way," he reminded her. She didn't reply.

"Aiden?" She looked up at him carefully, trying hard to hide everything rushing through her. Danny, however, could read her like a book.

"Do you want me to apologize?" he asked softly, taking one hand in his.

"I don't know," she told him honestly, knowing it was pointless to lie. Danny took a deep breath.

"I don't want to," he replied.

"Danny?"

"I'm not going to apologize for kissing you, Aiden," he said with such a finality it made her heart leap into her throat. She took a moment to think about her response, enough time for Danny to deflate, turn around and make it out the door saying he'd meet her in the car. By the time she thought her mouth would work, he was gone.

She met him in the car, staring straight out the windshield. They began the drive in silence, Aiden preparing herself for her words. Finally, she reached for his hand, knowing the turmoil he was experiencing.

"I don't want you to," she told him, finishing their prior conversation.

"What?"

"Apologize. I don't want you to." She was watching him and, as a result, could see the smile that blossomed over his face.

"Good."


	6. Finders Keepers

**Chapter 6**

_Finders Keepers_

* * *

The house appeared empty as they stepped in and got to work, picking apart the knick-knacks and things in the home to find clues and evidence of neglect.

"No pictures," Aiden pointed out with disgust.

"What?" Danny asked. Aiden motioned to the room.

"Do you see pictures of any of the kids? Or any of her family for that matter?" Danny scanned the room slowly per Aiden's wordless request.

"My parents had one picture of me that changed with every school year, every time the school sent pictures," Aiden said absently. Danny noticed the lack of emotion in Aiden's voice, even as her hand wistfully brushed over the coffee table where he was sure she believed a family portrait should have sat.

"Aiden are you seriously okay with doing this case? And don't lie." Aiden rolled her eyes moving off down the hall.

"I'm not compromising it, am I?" she called to him. "Plus, it's helped me come to terms, in some sick way, with what my parents did."  
"I don't know, Aid," he replied, following her meticulously down the plain hall, "If Mac found out –" Aiden cut him off with a hand to his mouth. It took Danny a minute to register exactly what Aiden was talking about as she moved down the hall to another door.

"Hello?" she called, putting her ear to the door.

"Who are you?"

"Friends," Aiden answered. "Do you have a sister? Shannon?"

"You know where she is?" Danny, who had come up beside Aiden, changed the direction of the conversation.

"We're going to get you out, okay?"

"Says who?" Aiden turned to see a rather beefy man blocking the hall.

"I'm calling the cops. This is break and enter," he growled at Danny.

"We're here with a warrant," Danny replied calmly. "We are the cops." To prove his point, he withdrew his ID and badge. It was that moment Flack entered, behind the man.

"Hey!" The man turned and Aiden took the time to pick the lock – a little known skill and one few knew she'd learned – on the door. She motioned to the terrified children who quietly scampered behind her, gripping the edges of the coat she still wore.

"This is my house," he growled. Aiden suppressed a shiver at the not-so-subtle danger lacing his voice. She looked at both men, subconsciously thankful both had a hand on their guns.

"Aiden," Danny said quietly, eyes still focused on the man between him and Flack. "Get those kids out of here." Aiden didn't need to be told twice and turned her back.

"Bitch!" Before anyone could process the movement, the man, who, when Aiden was concentrating on the lock had been identified as Ben Finnes, had Aiden by the throat. Her back hit the wall hard, even as she gasped for the kids to run. He was brutally crushing her windpipe, forcing her to fight for much-needed air. She saw over the beefy shoulder both Danny and Flack had their guns drawn.

"Let her go," Flack yelled. It was pointless. Neither man would shoot in fear of hitting her and there was nothing they could do. He had her upper body pinned with his, his legs spread apart around her… That was all the opening Aiden needed as she thrust her knee into his groin. He doubled over, leaving an opening for Danny to pull Aiden away and into the safety of his arms as Flack drew his cuffs. Aiden buried her face in Danny's shoulder as her body trembled. Danny just held her, watching as Flack and two other officers hauled Ben Finnes away.

Aiden refused to cry. Not at a crime scene and definitely not in front of colleagues. It was still the scariest moment of her life. Danny pressed a gentle kiss to her hair as he waited for the trembling to stop. Aiden pulled back once she was calmer, her arms coming loose from where she'd wrapped them when he'd yanked her out of Finnes' grasp.

"You okay?" he asked carefully. Aiden looked up at the ceiling clearing her throat and forcing back the tears.

"I can still work the case," she said neutrally. _As long as I don't have to deal with him,_ she finished mentally. Danny took the answer and Aiden silently thanked him for not pushing her. She knowingly took advantage of his current overprotective nature and knew there was no way she was getting near the apprehended man anyway.

"Why don't you go with the kids to the station? I'll finish up here," Danny said, telling her more than asking her. Aiden nodded her head anyway, foregoing arguing in favour of things she knew were safe. Danny guided her to the front door. Aiden introduced herself to the children.

"We're going to head to the police station, okay?"

"We're not in trouble, are we?" the eldest, no older than six, asked. Aiden shook her head with a gentle smile.

"We just want to ask you a few questions and make sure you're safe," she answered. Danny squeezed her shoulder, letting her know he was going back in. Aiden turned with a nod and a small smile, hoping the words she couldn't say were conveyed in the brief meeting of their eyes. Aiden watched his retreating back for a few minutes before directing the kids to a squad car. When they didn't budge, Aiden found herself wondering if they'd had a past in Government Issue vehicles. She quickly fished the keys to the car she and Danny had come in out of her pocket, making a mental note to let Danny know he needed a ride back to the lab before piling the two kids and herself into the car.

* * *

Aiden's phone rang as she was skimming evidence, her hand subconsciously at the bruise forming on her throat. Her head was starting to pound – a mixture of pressure and stress she was sure – with the beginnings of what looked to be a killer migraine.

"Burn."

"You seem to have left me a little stranded here, Aid." Aiden groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead.

"I was going to call," she said, shaking her head at her own forgetfulness. "I'll be over in a few."

"Not necessary. Officer Lamb has graciously offered me a lift back," he said. Officer Serena Lamb had a well-known crush on Danny, Aiden knew as well as the rest of the lab and precinct.

"Messer," she ground out. She heard a faint chuckle and resisted the urge to bang her head against the lay out table in front of her.

She'd been in the lay out room for two hours, looking at, but not really seeing the pictures in front of her. It was all too easy for her to put herself in the minds of the two children she'd handed over to child services. Well, almost. Stella had taken immediately to the children and whisked them away, much to Aiden's relief. It wasn't that she didn't like the children, or didn't like children in general; she found they were delightful, if a bit shy, but it held her past in front of her face. She debated with herself when she let Stella take them. If _she_ had a hard time looking at them she could only imagine what was going through Stella's head, a woman who had been part of The System. However, when Aiden had gotten herself back under a stronger rein of control and looked into the lounge, Stella was fine, or so she assumed. Aiden had only poked her head in and let Stella know she'd be in a lay out room.

She then proceeded to stare blankly at the pictures, shuffling them around until Flack walked in and let her know she was looking at the pictures upside down. Then she gave up all pretences of work and braced herself on the table. Flack had inquired as to her scatterbrained state but she'd told him she wasn't ready to talk about it. She'd also let him know, on no uncertain terms, he wasn't to tell anyone else. Reluctantly, and with a worried glance, he'd agreed. It had only been a few minutes after that Danny called.

"You've got 20 minutes," he told her a note of teasing in his voice.

"I'll be there in 15."

* * *

**_2 for the price of one because I thought that they needed to be split up where they were. Originally this was supposed to be one chapter, but it made more sense that they be split up and I wanted to put them up together so…hope you enjoyed._**


	7. Those Who Understand

**Chapter 7**

_Those Who Understand

* * *

_

Even with the heavy congestion of New York traffic, Aiden managed to make it to the house in her promised fifteen minutes. He sat on the front step, evidence bins full of bags around him. Two squad cars were left and Aiden recognized the redheaded officer as Officer Lamb. Danny, she noticed with a burst of warmth, turned his gaze away from the officer as soon as he heard a car. Danny made a show of checking his watch as she turned off the car and got out.

"Fifteen minutes? In New York? You must have broken a few traffic laws," Danny quipped. Aiden resisted the slight urge to flip him off, her migraine having intensified since the lab, and shrugged.

"Bread New Yorker, Messer. I know all the short cuts," she managed to quip back as stars exploded behind her eyes. She hadn't taken aspirin for the ache and was bitterly regretting it now. However, she managed not to wince. Danny forced a smile, knowing Aiden well enough to see the pain behind her eyes.

"I'll help with the bins," she said. He didn't argue. In face, he didn't' say anything, just held out his hand for the keys. She let out an exasperated sigh but handed them over anyway.

Once all the evidence – "You bagged the whole house!" Aiden had exclaimed, half teasing half in annoyance – was packed in the car, Danny took the drivers side, Aiden riding shotgun and began the ride back to the lab. Aiden closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest. Danny clasped one of her hands in his and squeezed in gently.

"There's aspirin in my kit if you want it," he told her softly, knowing the horrors of a major headache. Aiden shot him a thankful smile, removing her hand from his only to dig out the pill bottle and his half empty water bottle. Regardless of how much the headache hurt, there was no way she was taking pills dry.

"Hey!" Danny protested half-heartedly as she downed half of what was left of his water.

"Suck it up," Aiden managed, gritting her teeth. Danny squeezed her hand again as he navigated through rush hour traffic.

"Maybe you should go home," Danny suggested carefully, knowing Aiden had pushed hard to stay on the case. As she opened her mouth, Danny had a gut feeling he'd have to do a bit more persuading, but her negation never came. Instead, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, a hand on her head. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh, checking the time on the car's clock. He noticed her gaze as they pulled to a stop at a set of lights.

"Shift's almost over."

"But Ben Finnes…"

"Flack can hold him overnight for assault."

"The kids…" Danny could tell it was Aiden's last attempt to stay at work. He bit his cheeks against the smile.

"I'll run you by your apartment and take the evidence to the lab. I'll check to make sure CPS is with them, okay?" Aiden closed her eyes against what was left of the sunlight. Finally, she nodded.

"Do you want anything?" he asked, changing lanes to reroute them to her apartment. "I'll bring dinner." Aiden's eyes flew open.

"Danny!" she exclaimed, wincing immediately at the loudness of her own voice. "That's not necessary."

"Are you going to eat something?" he shot back, knowing she hadn't eaten anything since their breakfast. She rolled her eyes but was inwardly pleased at his worry, and caring. Danny, on his part, took her silence as the negative, that he was right in assuming she wouldn't eat if he left her alone. However, at the next red light, he took a minute to look at his partner.

It was obvious to him that Aiden had spent the better part of the last two nights in a restless sleep and there were stress lines that he could notice. Her head was reclined against the back of her seat, eyes closed against the harsh lights from the windshield. On impulse, he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly. A smile softened her features from the painful grimace from a few seconds prior.

He pulled up to her complex a few minutes later, walking her up to her apartment to make sure she got settled. Aiden didn't waste any time shrugging off her jacket and collapsing, face first into her pillow. Danny chuckled, dropping a kiss to the back of her head and taking her keys as he left.

**

* * *

Stella caught him entering the lab with everything from the house.**

"CPS is here. Have you seen Aiden?" she asked, not saying hello.

"Hello to you too, Stella," he quipped. Stella rewarded him with a saucy grin.

"Aiden's at home with a killer headache," Danny answered, thanking Stella with a nod as she held the door for him and the bin he was carrying.

"What about that guy?"

"Flack can hold him for assaulting an officer," Danny answered nonchalantly.

"Who?"

"Aiden." At Stella's gasp Danny shrugged.

"She'd fine." He wasn't going to tell Stella about the other emotions that had raced through him when Aiden had been pressed mercilessly against that wall.

"Well, she's supposed to sign off on the kids. CPS wants to talk to the CSI that found them," Stella said. Danny nodded.

"I'll be there as soon as I log this stuff in," he replied, lifting the bin in his arms. Stella gave him a cut nod and they split ways.

**

* * *

Aiden loved solitude. Well, usually she loved solitude. She'd developed a supreme dislike of being by herself since the realization that the face she'd reconstructed didn't have a family looking for him. It brought back emotions she'd buried deeply in the recesses of her mind, where she'd thought they'd be locked away safely. Her headache had dissipated somewhat with the help of the aspirin. Thanking whoever invented the little white pills, Aiden reached for her phone, her fingers dialling a familiar number.**

"Burn residence," came the chipper voice of her brother's wife, Catherine.

"Is James there please?" Aiden asked, hoping to keep the tears at bay until she was talking to her brother, the one person – other than Danny – that knew her better than she knew herself.

"May I ask who's calling?" Her voice sounded suspicious and Aiden, ever the investigator, filed that away to ask later.

"Aiden," she said with a small grimace and a weary voice.

"Aiden! How are you?" Her voice sounded happier and much less suspicious.

"Okay. Can I speak to James?" Aiden wasn't sure how much longer she could deal with everything and hold back the tears.

"Of course!" There was shuffling and a muffled shout before the phone was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Jamie, its Aiden." Her voice was choked and weary.

"Aiden! What's wrong?" She cursed herself internally, casting her glance to the ceiling in a vain attempt to keep the tears from flowing down her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath.

"Bad case?" he asked softly.

"Girl died of starvation. Her siblings were locked in the basement." Again, she cursed herself as her voice cracked.

"You going to be alright?" She smiled. They'd always been close, even if she resented him. She was more than thankful for that. She always called him on Friday of every week – he was without fail at the office after taking over the CEO position of the family business when her father retired two months ago – to catch up on their lives. She didn't know why she'd called him at home and wasn't really surprised his wife didn't know her voice.

"Yeah. Danny's been a huge help," she said.

"Your co-worker?" Danny had been a constant topic of conversation between them. He'd been the one to point out her more than professional feelings towards Danny.

"Yeah." James knew Aiden had buried the memories of her more than horrible childhood and that it was a taboo subject.

"How?" Aiden had to think about that one.

"I cried," she said softly and had to repeat herself so he could hear.

"At the lab?" Aiden answered the affirmative.

"Wow." It was obvious that this revelation surprised him. Aiden didn't cry in front of people. She'd only cried in front of him once.

"It's that bad?" It went without saying that it frustrated Aiden, especially since James knew she'd done a formidable job of burying her past pain. She finally voiced her underlying frustration.

"It shouldn't have set me off. Danny even said I'm the strongest and most objective CSI he knows," she said, playing with a loose thread on her bedspread. She didn't care if she sounded like a child. After all, he _was_ her big brother and he still referred to her as his baby sister. She could almost see him nod.

"Did Mom or Dad call?" Aiden snorted in disbelief. James chuckled.

"Mom would have kidnapped the phone if Daddy tried to call," Aiden responded. Her relationship with her father was substantially different than her relationship with her mother. She understood why her father spent every waking moment in the office or holed up in his study.

"You don't give them a lot of credit, you know," he chided. Aiden rolled her eyes.

"She didn't give me _any_ credit," she reminded him bitterly. He conceded silently.

"A letter?" he asked, bringing them back on topic. Aiden did a mental inventory of the ail on her coffee table. She hadn't gotten a chance to go through her personal mail, only her bills, and didn't know the answer. She mentioned as much.

"Then what could have…?" His voice remained pensive. Aiden wanted to scream.

"When I find out, I'll tell you," she snapped and immediately apologized.

"Headache?" he asked. James knew Aiden all too well.

"Couldn't concentrate. It's going away now that I'm spilling my heart," she answered, not bothering to deny it.

"Who convinced you?" Aiden couldn't stop the smile that blossomed over her face.

"Danny." She could almost hear the admiration in his humming response.

"When can I congratulate him?" Aiden giggled.

"That's better," James said softly, "You have a beautiful laugh, Aiden." When he found out the lengths his mother had gone to keep Aiden separate from her husband and had ignored his baby sister – who he protected like any older brother would – he'd taken it upon himself to make her feel loved.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" As if on cue, a key scraped in the lock. Aiden panicked slightly before remembering Danny had taken her keys.

"Hey Aiden," he called, then clapped his free hand over his mouth as he saw she was on the phone. Her brother chuckled.

"Danny has this crazy idea that I won't eat if I'm left alone," she said with a hint of amusement and a sparkle that Danny caught. James snorted over the phone.

"You won't," he said. "I'll let you go. We still on for Friday?"

"Always." Then on impulse, "How busy are you?"

"Few meetings, why?"

"I was thinking of lunch." Then she made a split second decision, annoyed with how much of a mess she'd become over this case.

"Maybe you can help me with something."

"It's nothing I can't shift around for my favourite sister," he said affectionately. Aiden couldn't stop the girlish smile that blossomed over her face as she sat at the counter where Danny was dishing up the take out he'd brought.

"You are officially penned in for lunch on Friday," he told her. She smiled at his words. She wasn't penciled in like most would be. She was special. Then he was serious.

"Nothing could keep me away." Aiden's grin softened.

"It's a date," she said, missing the quizzical look from Danny.

"Love you," he told her, his customary last words.

"Love you too." She hung up the phone, letting her head droop onto her folded arms on the counter. Her spirits were considerably lighter and talking, letting out her fears and anxieties to the person who understood them best, had done wonders to alleviate her headache.

"Lunch date?" Danny asked, presenting her with a plate and leading the way to her couch. Aiden wasn't blind or stupid.

"With my brother," she replied, trying to quell the jealously before it got out of control.

"You called your brother?"

"It's my parents I don't generally talk to. Well, my mother specifically," she said.

"Tell me about him," Danny inquired softly.

"He was the only man in my life for a while, the most important person in my world when my dad wasn't around," she began. "He used to be the only one I considered my true family."

"You talk about it in the past tense," Danny pointed out.

"I have other important men in my life," she replied with a significant look in his direction. He was honoured with the distinction.

"Anyway…" She proceeded to recount for him all sorts of stories of her and her brother. Danny listened attentively to all of the anecdotes, filing things away that gave him more insight into how Aiden worked. He only asked questions to clarify.

"He's been your world," Danny said when she finished. She nodded, leaning against his outstretched arm where it lay across the back of her couch. She curled into him, enjoying the moment. His arm snaked around her shoulders as he rested his head against hers. He stroked her hair as they sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Danny could feel Aiden drifting off against his shoulder and smiled indulgently.

"Aid?" She looked up at him sleepily. He couldn't help the smile that blossomed over his face.

"Come on. Let's get you to bed." He tucked her carefully into bed, securing the blanket under her chin. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead and turned to leave. He'd assumed since she'd been basically the old Aiden since she got off the phone with her brother she would be fine on her own for the night. Aiden wasn't willing to risk it.

"Stay?" she asked him groggily. He couldn't leave.

"Okay, but I'll have you know I'm losing sleep for this," he quipped, stripping to his boxers. Aiden waited until he was settled in beside her before curling against him, head pillowed just above his heart.

"I could get used to this." She told him, drawing absently on his stomach. He grasped her hand.

"I'm already used to this. Goodnight Aiden." She smiled and leaned up to place a quick kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight Danny."


	8. The Stronger One

**Chapter 8**

_The Stronger One_

_

* * *

_

Aiden woke the next morning, refreshed and rested, but surprised to find herself alone. She rolled over and batted her alarm silent. It took her longer than that to drag herself out of bed and into the bathroom. As the shower spray pounded on her back, Aiden reflected on the last couple of days.

It frustrated her that she couldn't figure out the catalyst to the chain of events that had occurred over the time period of only a few days. Aiden Burn didn't cry, and didn't get upset on cases. She buried everything inside her, worked detached from the cases. But apparently, that was swiftly changing.

She crawled out of the shower 20 minutes later no closer to finding out what had her on edge and with the beginnings of a nasty headache. She pulled two aspirin from the bottle and took them to the kitchen with her, gulping them back with water. As she put her glass down, she caught sight of the calendar that hung above her coffee maker and it dawned on her.

Her art show would have been this week.

To anyone else, it wouldn't have matter. For Aiden, however, it brought back a slew of emotions that she wasn't sure she was prepared to deal with. The fact that her parents had never, ever, seen her art show, the culmination of a years' hard work, had scarred her much deeper than she apparently realized. It was just bad timing.

Now that she looked back on it, she was snappy every year around this time. Usually people just chalked it up to PMS, but in actuality it was a defence mechanism from her school days. People left her alone when she was snappy.

She moved to the coffee maker, slightly more at ease since figuring out what was racing through her head and noticed Danny's quickly scrawled note. He'd made fresh coffee and would pick her up from work, it said. It also apologized for stealing her favourite mug and Aiden frowned slightly. She remembered her car was still at CSI since Danny had dropped her off the afternoon before. Thankfully, it wasn't long until a knock sounded at her door.

"My art show," she blurted out, thinking Danny was on the other side of the door. The sight that greeted her, however, was substantially different. Two people stood in front of her, the identities of which made her jaw drop.

"Close your mouth, you look like a fish," her mother said, breezing into the apartment. Her father followed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Aiden asked, thankful to see Danny's head over the crest of the stairs. He gave her a quizzical look and began to open his mouth to reply but she shook her head, turning back into the apartment.

"We're visiting, and watch your language. Its unladylike," her mother answered from the kitchen. "Do you not have someone to clean these up?" Aiden rolled her eyes at her mother's crack at the pile of dishes that had accumulated. She hadn't had time to clean up in the past while. Cases were calling her out left right and centre.

_Speaking of which…_ Aiden thought as the pager she'd clipped to her hip beeped. She glanced down at it then back to her mother.

"You've never acknowledged me, and I do my own dishes," she shot back, gathering her keys and purse. She looked up at Danny, a question in her gaze.

"419, Flack said. I called him on my way over. Something about a lot of blood," he answered her unspoken question. Aiden wrinkled her nose as her mother gasped behind her.

"You deal with blood! What have you become?"

"Independent," she answered her mother scathingly then turned back to Danny. "You driving?"

"You have no car," he quipped back. Aiden rewarded him with a small grin as she reached around her mother to get her coffee.

"Touché."

"I don't appreciate being ignored!" her mother snapped. Aiden met her eyes coldly.

"Neither did I. Get out." Aiden stood by the door, waiting for her parents to leave. Part of her felt bad for treating her mother so coldly in front of her father, especially since she had always been a daddy's girl, but it had to be done. Her father moved to take a step, but her mother held out a hand to stop him, holding her ground.

"Look, all of my friends are in law enforcement and you really don't want me to call them," Aiden said with an over-exaggerated sigh. Her father moved first, knowing Aiden to be true to her word. As he passed her living room table, however, he stopped to lay an envelope on the wood. Her mother followed slightly after, stomping out with her nose in the air. Aiden managed to hold in her investigative instinct to go and get the envelope, instead closing her door with an air of finality. Danny took her hand in his for support. He subconsciously acted as a buffer between her and her parents.

"We're going to see James," her mother told her unceremoniously. Aiden outright ignored her, taking the keys from Danny's outstretched hand.

"You know me too well," she said with a tight smile.

"I figure you'll do a better job negotiating New York traffic," he answered, also handing over a piece of paper with an address. She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. He smiled as he climbed into the passenger's side.

"I feel sorry for criminals today," he quipped, in attempt to restore her mood.

"One stupid one, that's all I need. One dumbass criminal to kick to the curb and it'll make my day," she mumbled, expertly cutting off two taxis. Aiden Burn was a force to be reckoned with when she was pissed. With the hell that was New York traffic, it gave her an outlet for some of that anger.

"In your father's defence Aiden, he looked pretty sheepish about something," he said carefully, aware that essentially anything could set her off. Instead of the expected outburst, Aiden sighed.

"I know. Daddy would fake business trips to get away from Patricia. He told me once when he found me curled in ball in a corner of his study." Her voice grew wistful.

"Daddy?" He'd assumed Aiden had been at odds with both of her parents.

"My mother has always been a spoiled, whiny whore. In actuality, she ignored me because she hated me and the attention I got from my dad. She did everything she could, sent me to boarding school, and planned trips to Tahiti on major school events… This is my dad's yearly trip he makes to New York. Usually leaves Patricia with James when he visits through." She shrugged. "It hurt, not having Daddy around all the time and he was always careful not to spoil me. My dad grew up on the street, that's how I survived."

In all honesty, it seemed far-fetched, even to Danny who had heard just about everything from suspects and witnesses over the years.

"He should have been there for you," he told her, hanging on to the door as she took a fast turn into an alley.

"Why do you think I call James on a Friday night, religiously? It was a practice I started with my dad," Aiden explained.

"Every one thinks you're born and bred Bronx."

"Essentially, I am. My dad came from the Bronx, always kept his old apartment and ended up giving it to me when I was sixteen and able to move out of the dorms in the school. Not to mention I spent a lot of time outside of that school, just to get away from the spoiled rotten little brats. Not to mention it really helped cut the costs on boarding and commuting, and I didn't have to deal with Patricia. It was my home for years." Aiden pulled into the driveway, looking at the decrepit structure that lay in front of them.

"Why me?" she groaned, parking the car. It was a small inn, a shady place of depression and degradation. Flack met them as they exited the car.

"Victim is Marcie Parker, aunt of Shannon Parker," Flack said.

"Finnes?"

"In lock up for assaulting an officer," Flack answered, running on autopilot. Aiden rolled her eyes watching him make his way back to a crowd of people Aiden could only assume were the rest of the clients and the manager.

"She was our best bed for the case," she said, as they entered the room. "Assuming the kids won't testify."

"Let's focus on her as a victim, huh?" Danny said, already picking through the sparse contents of the dresser.

"She was working," Aiden remarked, still standing at the door observing the room and the scantily clad bloodied mass on the bed.

"Well, we won't know if it was cash up front," Danny answered, holding up and empty wallet Aiden moved into the room, light shining over the blood stained sheets.

"Does the human body even have that much blood?" Aiden asked rhetorically, knowing it only looked more than it was.

"Of course not, Aiden," came the voice of coroner Sheldon Hawkes. Aiden couldn't stop the roll of her eyes.

"I did take that stuff Doc. I didn't expect anyone to actually answer," Aiden responded, moving out of the way for him to pass. It didn't take a genius to figure out cause of death. The body was mangled, all over the half-naked torso, stab wounds and scratches. The assumed fatal wound was a slit throat. The bed sheets under the vic were soaked with blood. She was tied to the bed, arms spread-eagle and her legs spread open. There was a table under the window, two glasses sitting with their liquid still in them. A wine bottle sat aside and Aiden could make out red lipstick on one of the glasses.

"Tox report and kit please," Aiden said softly to the doctor, moving to start classifying evidence and processing the body and surroundings. Sheldon nodded.

"Liver temp says she's been dead eight hours," he said. Aiden nodded looking up as Flack entered.

"Took the room furthest away from any thin-walled civilization. Whoever did this didn't want anyone to hear her scream," he told them, a note of disgust in his voice.

"He was smart. Walls in these things are like paper," Aiden agreed.

"You think it was passion?" Danny asked, moving to stand opposite Aiden across the bed. Aiden snorted.

"There must have been some premeditation for the guy to have picked the furthest room and everything, but it would explain the ties," she answered, moving to lift the camera. She snapped a few pictures of the prone body and tied arms before beginning to untie the vic. Danny mirrored her movements, both dropping the cloth into separate evidence bags.

"All right, Doc," Aiden said, stepping away from the bed and allowing the coroner and his team to lift the body and cart it out of the room. Danny turned to Aiden, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Now the fun begins," he said, snapping the latex gloves he was using for effect. He was trying hard to keep her happy, upbeat and from the smile he saw blossoming despite her best efforts, he was succeeding.

"Ah yes, the best part: collecting," she quipped back, eventually foregoing her struggle and grinning. It was that moment she realized and accepted that Danny was good for her. He knew how she worked and hot to work with her, on good days and bad.

"Hey, it's better than analyzing," he answered with a pointed look. Aiden conceded with a nod of her head, already making a beeline for the table.

"You can do the sheets," she said, giving him her sweetest smile. Danny groaned good-naturedly, too content with her current mood to argue.

"It's yours next time," he told her seriously. Aiden laughed.

_

* * *

_

Danny had worked hard to keep Aiden's mind off her parents all day. It had worked wonders for the rest of the personnel in the lab. With both Aiden and Stella – who he'd passed in the halls – in a good mood, the lab had become a sunnier place. Now, they poured over everything they'd collected.

"We still have no murder weapon," Danny pointed out.

"Yeah, but if AFIS kicks out a match we're home free," Aiden answered absently.

"He tied her down," Danny started, gesturing to the picture of the tied hands.

"Why? Did he plan to tie her down so he could kill her or did he want to do her first?" Aiden responded.

"And then the question becomes did she do something wrong in the process. He must have been a repeat customer. She trusted him somewhat, right? Enough to let him tie her down," Danny speculated. Aiden nodded her agreement.

"We need a client list," Aiden said.

"Did she have one?"

"You tell me. You were the one that went through the house," she replied with a saucy smile. Danny grumbled. Aiden's phone rang.

"Burn."

"There's a man waiting at reception for you," came the snotty voice of the receptionist.

"I'll be there in a minute," she answered, confusion clearly in her voice and on her face. "There's someone at the front for me. You get a reprieve."

"I'll look through the house stuff," he told her, looking around. He was happy no one was around as he kissed her cheek.

"Stay strong," he whispered, leaving the room.

_

* * *

_

"Dad?" Aiden called, surprised to see him in her place of work.

"Aiden." His voice sounded relieved though she'd already noticed his tense and nervous posture.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"In New York?"

"Here, at the crime lab," Aiden answered.

"Is…" he stumbled, "is there somewhere more private?" Aiden quickly racked her mind for a private place.

"Not really, is something wrong?" Aiden asked, currently guiding him to the empty lounge.

"I didn't want your mother to come," he told her honestly.

"Don't worry about it," Aiden said, really starting to worry. She knew he was avoiding the real issue.

"I talked with James while we were in Hawaii," he said, referring to the annual meeting of his company, which he'd passed on to her brother.

"About?"

"My relationship with you and my relationship with your mother." This surprised Aiden. She swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat.

"And?"

"What would you say if your mother and I separated?" Aiden forced herself to stay calm.

"What do you mean?"

"James told me about your school days, about how things were taken care of when I wasn't at home and you were." He turned to her, his face full of anguish. "That's not how I wanted my little girl to grow up, Aiden. You have to believe that."

"It worked out okay, Dad," she told him. "I ended up alright, didn't I?" It wasn't meant to sound cocky but to assure him that everything was fine and she didn't blame him for her childhood. He looked at her with haunted eyes.

"She ruined your childhood," he protested.

"James was with me, Daddy," she said, tears welling in her eyes as she reverted to the childish name. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Daddy, do you love your wife?"

"I don't know, Aiden. I'm not even sure I know my wife," he answered sullenly. Aiden took a deep breath. No matter how much hatred she harboured from her childhood towards the woman who had given birth to her, she wanted to see her father happy.

"Maybe you should see if you can do it, hey?" she suggested. He looked up at her, surprised. Aiden felt like she had to explain.

"In my job, I've seen the lowest of the low. I've seen murder, rape, and under the most disgusting motives. But most of all, Dad, I've seen regret, on the faces of family members, and even murderers. Looks like that you don't forget, and I don't want to see you go through that. This is a decision that should be made based on your heart, not upon my lacklustre childhood."

"Are you the same little girl I caught in my library?" he asked, a ghost of a smile blossoming.

"Just promise me you won't end it before you know what you're giving up?" Aiden pleaded. He kissed her head.

"Personal in the lab, Aiden?" She faced the amused voice, the moment between her and her father broken. Danny stood in the doorway, evidence bag in hand. She rolled her eyes.

"Dad, this is Danny," she said, standing with her father. "Danny, this is my dad, Sam."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Danny said formally, extending his hand. The other man took it, giving it a brisk shake.

"So you're the one that's been taking care of my little girl." Danny couldn't help the smile he felt blossoming over his face, but jumped in quickly before Aiden could reprimand her father.

"I like to believe so, but Aiden is pretty capable of taking care of herself," he answered. Aiden threw up her hands in mock annoyance.

"She just pretends," Sam said, wrapping an arm around his daughter. Danny laughed at Aiden's obvious exasperation. In reality, it was nice to see her father slightly more relaxed than he had been. Then she caught sight of the evidence bag.

"I hate to cut this short, Dad, but you caught us in the middle of a case," Aiden said resignedly. Her father nodded.

"We'll have to do lunch," he said. Aiden made a split second decision.

"I'm going to try and get Friday off. Is dinner okay? Jamie's taking the lunch hour for his favourite baby sister." Even as Aiden said the words she was rolling her eyes at being the youngest and still considered the baby.

"We were supposed to head back to California Thursday afternoon but I think I can extend my trip for an extra day," he said. Aiden resisted the urge to blanch.

"Of course, Patricia will have to go back on Thursday. She mentioned something about one of her social events," her father continued a conspiratorial smile on his face. "Why don't both of you come?" That took both of the CSIs by surprise.

"I'd like to thank you, Danny for watching over my Aiden."

"Daddy!"

"Even though she doesn't need it," he finished with a wink at Danny. Aiden kissed her father's cheek.

"Try not to let…" she stopped to rephrase, "Try not to drive James nuts." Sam understood all that his daughter didn't say. He kissed her forehead.

"Friday it is," he said, turning and exiting the lab. Aiden turned to Danny.

"Are you and I both going to dinner with my dad on Friday?" Aiden asked rhetorically. With an awed shake of her head, she snatched the evidence bag from his hand and left the lounge, turning towards the lay out room they'd previously vacated.

_

* * *

_

She hated sounding like a child, especially to Mac, but she was more than excited that Mac had given her the day off. On the condition that she would be on call of course.

"I owe you, Mac. Thank you so much," she gushed. She felt like a kid in a candy shop.

"Aiden, we've got a lead. AFIS kicked out a print and we've got a different DNA sample from the sheet," Danny said, poking his head into the room. Aiden virtually skipped after him.

"What one earth has gotten into you?"

"I just gained myself a last minute day off! I'm on call for Friday but only as a last ditch resort," she bragged smugly.

" How did you manage that?"

"You actually mean to tell me that you didn't talk to Mac about my reactions on the Parker case?" Part of her was honoured that he kept her secret. Danny put a hand on the small of her back, the only contact he'd allow himself in the busy lab.

"Wasn't my place, though I did consider it more than once and if it got any worse…" he trailed off.

"Thank you," she said, the words taking on a double meaning as he opened the door for her. Their evidence was still spread out on the table, Aiden had only stepped out of the room to make the call. She felt bad for interrupting him at a scene but he seemed more laid back than she'd expected.

"Prints are Greg Sims, prior for break and enter and two aggravated assault charges," Danny told her.

"Aggravated assault, huh?" Aiden asked, a grin splitting her face.

"Is that what you think?" Danny asked. She hummed in response."

"He's not a sexual offender so he won't be in CODIS," Danny said unnecessarily.

"Is it confirmed? He's male?"

"Yeah." Their pagers beeped. The coroner had finished with the body. They exchanged a smile as they all but raced each other out of the room.

_

* * *

_

"Doc!" Aiden called. Sheldon was standing by their dead body

"Aiden, Danny."

"So, what's up?" Danny asked.

"COD is exsanguination. She bled out from her throat. Slashed all of the major arteries and veins," Sheldon answered, showing the deep cut. "My guess? Your killer is left-handed. Slit is left to right."

"Anything else?" Aiden asked, anxious to talk to Greg Sims and put this away.

"Tox says sedatives and alcohol," the doctor answered, handing over the analysis sheet.

"Thanks doc."

_

* * *

****__This long one is to make up for the lack of updates. It's a combination of lack of time and lack of motivation, so I'm terribly sorry. Hope you enjoyed this since it was extra long and it wasn't too awkward. _


	9. Needing Closure

**Chapter 9 **

_Needing Closure_

Aiden was much more relaxed and at ease as she drove home that night. Her day had turned much better after seeing her mother that morning. It did help that she and Danny had gotten a chance to go out for lunch as their "first official date".

Now, as she pulled into the parking lot under her complex she couldn't help the contented smile that blossomed over her face. And, of course, she'd told herself repeatedly, it had nothing to do with her official, planned date with Danny in a few hours.

So when she found her mother lounging on her couch, her world fell out from underneath her.

"You know I don't appreciate being treated as the scum of the earth," she said spitefully.

"Neither did I:" Aiden answered coldly, putting her purse and keys on the table by the door. The reports she'd wanted to finish were dropped onto the coffee table as she took off her coat and moved into her bedroom.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me _mother_. You ignored me for the better part of 20 years. James and Daddy know and they agree," Aiden called back.

"That is ridiculous!"

"Get over yourself!" Aiden yelled. "You never showed up to any school events, never looked at my grades, never even gave a second thought to my birthday… yet you think you can just waltz in here? You can't believe you can waltz into my life?" Her mother rolled her eyes.

"This is a little dramatic, Aiden," her mother scolded. Aiden wanted to pull out her own hair.

"I'm not a girl!" she yelled.

"Aiden!"

"Enough! I don't have the patience for this, Mother. I have things to do. Please leave." It had taken a few minutes to say the last words as calmly and politely as possible.

"You will not kick your mother out of the house!" Patricia Burn exclaimed indignantly.

"You are not my mother," Aiden said, voice icy cold. "I don't have a mother." She pulled the door open, waiting for her mother to exit. Patricia sputtered.

"Last chance. My best friends are cops."

"This is ridiculous!" Aiden didn't budge and Patricia Burn had no choice but to leave. Aiden closed the door with finality and leaned against it. She stayed there for a few minutes before she pushed off and headed to the shower.

**

* * *

She was just finishing when Danny knocked. She opened the door and felt a rush of feminine pride as she gawked.**

Aiden was wearing a red dress that hugged her curves down her torso and flared down in layers to mid calf. It dipped to hug her chest with thick straps that crossed across her back. Fabric covered up to her mid-back. Danny took her hand, encouraging her in turn.

"Wow, Aiden… Wow." Aiden couldn't help the feminine giggle that escaped her throat.

"You're speechless," she managed.

"You're beautiful," he replied. She blushed prettily.

"You don't look too bad, yourself," she told him, laying her hands on his shoulders for a quick kiss. It was a kiss he gladly returned and deepened.

It was their first real kiss, the first one that called to mind all of the horrible love clichés. His arms wrapped around her waist, hers around his neck. Her mouth opened under his, giving him entrance that he immediately took advantage of. She couldn't stop the moan that came from her throat. They finally broke the kiss for the need of oxygen. Aiden hummed contentedly.

"We should head out," Danny said, his hands drifting up and down her back. Aiden nodded, eyes still closed. Danny chuckled, tugging her out of her apartment.

**

* * *

It almost surprised Aiden how much she and Danny could find to talk about without delving into cases. They had prolonged conversations about little inconsequential, neither aiming for deep conversation during the drive over. Once they were seated, in an intimate corner of the little Spanish restaurant Danny had picked, the conversation changed. It wasn't on purpose, but Aiden mentioned the visit from her mother.**

"She acted like she'd done nothing wrong," Aiden remarked sadly. "Like she'd done everything perfect." Danny, in tune with Aiden and the tones of her voice, caught the hint of insecurity in her voice.

"You know that's not true, right?" he asked, getting to the root of the issue, rather than scooting around the issue. He knew, no matter how painful it might be for her, he needed her to work through it. Aiden ran a hand through her hair, a nervous habit.

"I don't know what to do. I want this finished. It's haunting me, Danny. My mother doesn't understand that it _hurt_ and I don't know how to make her get it." The frustration was tangible in her posture, the annoyance in her eyes. Danny didn't know what to tell her. Having never been in her situation, he wasn't sure of the best way to handle the whole thing. So, he gave her the only two things he could offer: his support and his love.

"Do you want advice or do you want me to be honest?" he asked. Aiden considered a moment.

"Honesty," she decided. Danny took a deep breath, knowing that though the words might be a little harsh, he wanted her to be happy.

"Honestly, I don't know what to tell you. I can't pretend to know how it feels and I can't analyse this like I would a case." He paused to collect his thoughts. "Honestly, I can't offer advice, not really. If she doesn't see what an amazing person you are, Aiden, as clichéd as it sounds, she doesn't deserve to know you, let alone talk to you." Then for levity, "of course, I'm biased." Aiden smiled.

"I don't know how to spell it out any clearer for her," Aiden said, eyes downcast.

"I don't know what to tell you sweetheart." Aiden's head snapped up at the first endearment of their courtship. Danny didn't pick up on it.

"What I can tell you is that you are surrounded by people who care deeply for and love you. Focus on that because that's what matters."

"Very philosophical," Aiden said, smiling despite the tears clouding her vision.

"Don't tell anyone and don't get used to it," he admonished playfully, wagging his finger. He made a comical picture, funny enough to make Aiden giggle.

"This is…" he ran a hand over his head, collecting his thoughts. "I don't like seeing you all broken up about it." Aiden smiled softly, touched by his concern.

"You being here, listening to me and caring, is enough," she told him, her hand finding his over the table. It was the perfect time for a lull in the conversation. Their food arrived and they took the time to settle back, and think about what had been said.

Danny, though rationally he knew better, wanted to take her pain away. In his mind, she didn't deserve he pain her mother and both of the cases had dropped heavily on her shoulders. It tore him up to see her hurt and frustrated. He looked up to see her watching him.

"You can't do anything more, Danny. This is _my_ fight and I will not have you on my parents' bad side because you stuck your neck out for me," she told him, leaving no room for argument. Danny sighed.

"Promise me you'll talk to me," he almost begged. Now that he'd gotten to admitting he cared deeply for his long-term partner and best friend, he found himself doing things he would never do for anyone else. For instance, Danny Messer never begged.

"Of course!" Aiden replied sounding slightly indignant. "I started this conversation, did I not?" he conceded with a nod of his head.

They made their way back to Aiden's apartment in much higher spirits. Conversation, as usual, was easy and constant. In addition, it was the first work-related conversation they'd had.

"I'm not exactly sure what to make of this case anymore. I mean, I guess I can understand that it's her job but if you had a boyfriend, why would you keep doing it?" Aiden asked. "Not only that but if he was starving the kids, what's to say he wasn't abusing her?" Danny shrugged as he turned the corner to her building.

"We'll talk about the suspect in them morning. I want to actually know what was her blood," he replied. Aiden's chin dropped, her mouth slightly open.

"We didn't…"

"Nope. We were slightly preoccupied with other things. Besides, you didn't need any more stress," he answered, glancing at her. "And close your mouth, you'll catch a fly." Aiden promptly shut her mouth with a glare. Danny chuckled as he pulled up to the curb.

"Walk me up?" she asked sweetly. Danny killed the engine in response. They both exited the vehicle at the same time, and Danny took Aiden's hand as she came around the car. Aiden couldn't help the smile that blossomed over her face at the domesticity of it all. They made their way to Aiden's apartment and she started to get nervous. Not only did she not want the date to end, but her apartment meant sleep and sleep meant dreams.

"Aiden?" They were at her door.

"Sorry," she responded quickly, withdrawing her keys from her purse. She opened the door slowly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, keying into her reluctance.

"Peachy," she responded automatically. He stopped her.

"Talk to me." His soft tone was enough to disarm her.

"I don't want to go to sleep," she confessed, eyes focused on anything but him. Danny directed her eyes to his with a gentle hand under her chin.

"Do you want me to stay?" Aiden paused for a minute then shook her head. Her eyes met his again and he knew she was lying.

"I won't think any less of you Aid," he told her seriously. Aiden sighed knowing he'd just read her mind. She didn't want him to think of her as dependent. For years she'd been the opposite and expected it to stay that way. Still she was undecided. Danny sighed his hands rubbing up and down her arms.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep," Danny told her, guiding her into her apartment. Aiden didn't argue. He waited in the living room while she changed, helping himself to a glass of water. He flipped on the TV and found an upbeat sitcom. Aiden joined him a few minutes later, curling up against him.

"Thank you," she said a few minutes later, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. He smiled down at her.

"You don't have to thank me," he answered, dropping a kiss to her forehead. She snuggled closer, resting her head against his chest. Danny however, wasn't finished. He lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"I want you to know and trust that you don't have to hide from me, sweetheart. I will be here for you, Aiden, and you will _always_ be strong in my eyes," he told her gravely.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning up and touching her lips to his.


	10. Mature Decisions

**Chapter 10**

_Mature Decisions_

* * *

The knock on her door that Friday caught her rushing around her apartment. She'd woken up late, since it was her day off, and late had left her with an hour to get ready to go for lunch. Well, an hour before James showed up to take them to lunch. Thus, she opened the door with one earring in and half of her hair unbrushed.

"Hey," she said, moving back into the apartment and leaving the door open for her brother.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" he asked with a grin. She rolled her eyes.

"I got the day off, smartass. I woke up an hour ago."

"Every princess needs their beauty sleep," he answered solemnly. Aiden rolled her eyes as she turned the corner from the bathroom, allowing him to take a wander around her living room. She always went to his place for their mini family functions. He'd never been to her apartment before.

"I like this. It's cozy."

Aiden's eyebrows shot up, even though he couldn't see them, "I like it."

He laughed, knowing she was testing him. "A good cozy, Aid. It's nice to know the money you get isn't going to superficial stuff."

"I don't get money," she replied, returning to stand in front of him, chin held high. "I earn every penny."

"Hey," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he led her out of the apartment – she managed to grab her keys and purse before closing the door – and down the stairs, "Somebody's a little sensitive today."

Aiden's shoulders sagged. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's been a rough week."

"How is that case going?"

"Just Danny on it today. At least, until quitting time. Then he's going into a different interrogation."

"Interrogation?"

"Dad invited us for dinner."

"You said yes?"

"I had a choice?"

"Stop answering a question with a question."

"It was one question!" Aiden exclaimed indignantly. James grinned. She understood and glared.

"I know your favourite past time is getting me annoyed with you, but a girl can only take so much stress." She climbed into the passenger's side of his car at the same time he mirrored her movements on the driver's side.

"Stress?"

"The case is still a rough one, James. Just because I don't have to deal with Patricia doesn't mean that much stress is off of my shoulders."

"Come on! You're not lifting a thousand pounds anymore. It's probably down to at least half," he wheedled.

"Maybe it is. Still…" she trailed off with a shake of her head.

"Still what?" he asked as they pulled up to the restaurant.

"I'm over the neglect of the case, especially since the aunt was killed the other day…"

"But it doesn't make it easier?"

Aiden shook her head negative. "It's harder to put things back in that little box where I used to keep them."

They walked up to the restaurant and were seated in silence. It wasn't until after they'd placed their drink orders that James looked at her seriously, intent on getting into the heart of the matter.

"Why?" he asked. Aiden shrugged.

"I wish I could tell you. This whole thing with Patricia's visit…"

"Mom," he corrected.

"Pardon?"

"Mom's visit, Aiden."

"Mother's visit," she answered scathingly.

"Now you're being stubborn."

"You're taking her side," she accused. He leaned back against the seat, arms up in the universal gesture for surrender.

"I don't want to take sides in this."

"As much as it might hurt to think about it, Jamie, the woman carried me for nine months. After that, it was nannies and boarding schools."

"So that's it then? No second chances."

"Where did all of this come from? You lived through everything in that house, you know what I went through!"

"I know Aiden."

"Then what's with the sudden sympathy? Daddy said you were the one that told him everything."

"I did. He had the right to know." They were silent as their drinks were placed on the table. Aiden looked down at her straw, stirring the liquid in the glass absently.

"He's thinking of separating with Mother, you know."

"Divorce, you mean?"

"His term was separate." They paused.

"What happened?" James asked finally.

"He came to see me in the lab the other day. He wanted to apologize and talk. He mentioned he was thinking of separating."

"What did you say?"

"I didn't do happy cartwheels, if that's what you're asking. I told him to give it another shot."

James' eyebrows shot to his hairline. "You did what?"

"He's upset with what she did, and he says he doesn't know her anymore, but when was the last time he tried to get to know her? When was the last time they went on a vacation together? Dad's been too busy tying up loose ends with the company to attempt to rekindle anything. Plus, he's spend so many years avoiding her, I'm not even sure he knows much about her."

"You said all of this?"

Aiden rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you the same thing I told him. I've seen a lot in my job, a lot of death, a lot of hurt, a lot of anger and aggression. But nothing hurts more than to see the look of regret on someone's face. The number of times I've heard sons and daughters say the last thing they said to their now-dead parent was in hate, or the regret of not fixing a problem before an untimely death, is uncountable. I hate it, and the last thing I want is for Dad to regret not trying to fix things before he ended them."

James was looking at her silently when she finished, a look of raw admiration on his face.

"What?" Aiden asked sheepishly, looking down to her drink.

"You've grown up a lot, Aid. I'm glad you can put your feelings aside for Dad."

Aiden's eyes narrowed slightly. "I just want him to be happy, Jamie. If happy is without Mother, then so be it."

"I concur," he replied, a grin creeping over his face. "Now, tell me more about Danny."

**

* * *

**

Danny was already in her apartment when she returned home, files spread out across her living room table. She dropped her purse on the table and ambled over to the couch.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, dropping her head to his shoulder.

"My work is paperwork. I figured I could finish it here."

Aiden nodded, though she knew better. "You're trying to get comfortable before you have to deal with my dad."

"Aiden…"

"Hey, it's okay to be nervous." They were both silent. Then, Danny looked up.

"Nervous doesn't even begin to cover it," he answered finally and honestly.

"Dad doesn't bite. He's already thankful you've been watching over me lately. It'll be easy."

"Easy? It's like meeting the parents of my first girlfriend." He looked up, noticing her face crinkling in confusion.

"But you've technically already met my dad."

"And I'm dating his daughter. Did you tell him that part of it?"

Aiden just laughed. "He won't hurt you. I should be scarier to you than he is. Now, let me see if I can help you through some of this mess…"

**

* * *

**

**_I'm so sorry this took so long. I've done a couple other stories since then, I know, but this one was really giving me problems. Hopefully that's over and I can finish this up. I know that Danny'll meet Aiden's dad and the whole dinner thing, but I'm not sure whether or not to resolve things between Aiden and her mother._**

_**I'm also not completely sure where I want to take the case. This kind of morphed out while I was writing it and became what it is. After all, it was only actually supposed to be a one shot and now it's 10 chapters!**_

_**Hope you liked the update. I'll try to put dinner with dad up soon.**_

_**Kavi Leighanna**_


	11. Dinner Date

**Chapter 11**

_Dinner Date_

_**

* * *

**_

Aiden and Danny stepped into the upscale restaurant still talking quietly. Aiden had prepped Danny to the best of her ability trying to figure out exactly what her father was about to quiz Danny on.

"He likes you, Danny, and I like you. He won't ruin this," Aiden said with much more security than she felt. Her insides were doing flips and twists and making her stomach increasingly uncomfortable. Her father was already seated at a table in the back and they two of them joined him, sharing the same bench.

"Hello, hello," Sam greeted them, not moving from his seat. Danny took a minute while he was still standing to shake Sam's hand. Aiden just slid onto the bench.

"I had lunch with Jamie today," Aiden began, slipping her hand into Danny's under the bench and giving him a little bit of time to relax.

"Really?"

"We talked about you and mother."

"Remind me to congratulate him," Sam said, waving to the waiter and ordering wine for all of them. When he turned back, both Aiden and Danny looked confused.

"You just called Patricia, 'mother', or did you miss that." Aiden only rolled her eyes.

"He seems set on you and mother getting a divorce." Sam was surprised.

"He said that?"

"Not in so many words," Aiden conceded. "I said separated, he said divorce."

"James has never been pessimistic," Sam said in confusion. Aiden only shrugged. They sat in silence for a few minutes, perusing the menus. As Sam folded his, Aiden took a deep breath and squeezed Danny's hand.

"So, Danny, how long have you been working with Aiden?" Danny calmly set down his menu, the page still open to what he'd chosen.

"Since she started at the lab, sir. I must admit, we had an… interesting first day." Aiden couldn't help the smile that blossomed over her face. She remembered that day as the Day from Hell. It even got the capitals of a proper noun in her book. He'd done nothing but torment her like a newbie.

"It was understandable," she piped up, having listened to Danny apprehensively describe that day. "He'd gone through the same thing, it was only fair he got to do it for the next newbie. Plus, it gave me a good idea of how to play him."

"You have never taken advantage of that," Danny said thoughtfully.

"I've never had to. You've never frustrated me enough to force me into pushing your buttons," Aiden replied smugly.

"So it's safe to say you've been through some of Aiden's hardest cases along side her?"

"Some of them, sir. Definitely not all of them. We tend to avoid sharing cases we're not working on together." Before Sam could continue questioning Danny, Aiden's phone began to chime happily from her purse. She groaned as she identified Flack's number off of the caller ID.

"This had better be damned good," she all but growled into the phone.

"Did I wake you up, Princess?" Flack asked without remorse.

"No, you interrupted my dinner."

"And date with Alex Trebec?" Flack joked.

"And date with my father and boyfriend," Aiden snapped back. "What's up?"

"We got a hit in AFIS off of some of the prints collected. The guy spent time with Finnes in prison the last time he was there. Most of his stuff is assault, never with a deadly weapon."

"It was done in rage," Aiden said thoughtfully, excusing herself to finish the call outside. This left Danny alone with Sam. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both subtly making sure Aiden was sufficiently absorbed in her phone conversation so as to not draw attention to themselves.

"Now, Danny, I've seen you with my daughter, and I must admit, she does look happy with you."

"I'm trying, sir," Danny replied honestly.

"I don't expect her to get hurt," Sam warned.

"And I don't expect to hurt her," Danny replied with conviction. The last thing he honestly planned to do was hurt Aiden, in any way. Especially after what he'd learned about her parents.

"She doesn't open up very well, Danny." The younger man sighed.

"I have learned that," he agreed. "I wish it was easier."

"The only person she's ever really talked to is her brother." Danny took a deep breath. He was worried he was about to step over the invisible lines of taboo subjects.

"With all due respect, sir, the thing with her mother has thrown her off. I can see it in the lab and I can see it when she's at home. This case, had it come at any other time and occurred simultaneously with any other event, I don't believe that Aiden would have the same reactions." Sam looked down into his wine glass and Danny began to worry about the boundary line.

"I've never seen her this torn up," Sam agreed eventually. "The case is about child neglect?"

"Part of it, yes," Danny answered.

"He's not at liberty to discuss the details, Dad," Aiden stepped in, having returned from her phone conversation. "Flack says he's got results on prints and he's got the results from tox and trace. We'll pick it up tomorrow."

"We were just talking about you," Sam said with a smile. Danny could see the admiration and love in Aiden's father's gaze but he could also see the regret of his blindness to his wife's shenanigans.

"What else is new? And what else are you guys going to talk about? It's not as if you have the same taste in sports teams…" As soon as the words exited her mouth, Aiden knew she'd opened a can of worms that she couldn't participate in. With a sigh she settled herself down for sports talk.

**

* * *

**

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Danny asked as they walked up her apartment steps, an overnight bag in his hand. He'd assumed since the case wasn't over and the issue with her mother wasn't finished, he would be spending another night with the woman he loved. He had to admit, he wasn't against the idea.

"I didn't expect it to be much worse. My dad probably doesn't know enough about me to fully interrogate you and he's gotten over the 'Aiden's my little girl phase'. When I was away at school, I couldn't bring my boyfriends home for the weekend," she answered, dropping to her couch and removing her shoes. Her feet were killing her! She propped them up on the table with a sigh. Danny settled beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and settling her head on his shoulder.

"He wouldn't do anything like sit out front with a shotgun, would he?" Danny asked, a note of teasing in his voice. It got the desired laugh from Aiden.

"No. But he'd get dressed in his best suit and sit in front of the fire with the latest stock numbers. If you think guys are intimidated by shotguns, you've never seen my dad with his stocks. Intelligence can be just as scary," she returned, stifling a yawn.

"We should really get to bed. We've got leads to chase in the morning." They moved about their nighttime routines, twisting and turning around each other as necessary. Fifteen minutes later they were snuggled together in Aiden's bed, her head pillowed on his shoulder.

"Thank you for coming tonight," Aiden managed sleepily. Danny only pulled her closer.

"Nor a problem. Now I know what to expect when I have dinner with your father." She looked up at him with mischief and humour shining in her eyes.

"I have trained you well, young grasshopper."

"Who are you calling young grasshopper?" Danny asked, his hands attacking her sides as she squirmed with laughter. He continued to mercilessly tickle Aiden until she was breathing hard and gasping for breath. Somewhere along the line he'd ended up on top of her. She looked beautifully dishevelled and Danny couldn't resist leaning down and sealing his lips to hers. They broke apart when Aiden's lungs strained for air.

"Mm…" she moaned, licking her lips and sucking in air greedily. "A girl could get used to that."

"Good night, sweetheart," Danny said, settling back beside her and kissing her forehead. She looked up at him with a pout.

"But my knees aren't sufficiently jelly yet. I bet I could still stand on them," she protested. He grinned wolfishly.

"Well, this must be rectified," he said as gallantly as he could and sealed his mouth to hers.

* * *

**_Hope you enjoyed it and will someone please let me know whether or not Aiden and her mother should resolve things? Depends on how long you want this to go..._**

**_Kavi Leighanna_**


	12. Reconsider Your Priorities

**Chapter 12**

_Reconsider Your Priorities_

* * *

Both Danny and Aiden were awoken the next morning by Danny's beeping cell phone. Aiden groaned as Danny levered himself out of bed and towards his discarded pants from the night before.

"Tox report came back on Marcie Parker. You ready for another day?" Danny asked, handing the text message, and thus his phone, to the woman still comfortably in bed. Aiden couldn't stop a small smile from creeping over her face.

"Shouldn't I be asking that of you? You are the one that did dinner with my dad last night." Her teasing tone was not lost on him and he had to resist the childish urge to stick his tongue out at her.

"Come on, smarty pants, before Flack actually comes looking for us."

**

* * *

**

"Diazepam," Aiden announced, opening the file from the tox lab.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"About something like this? Not a chance."

"No one around her had access. How is that helpful to our case at all?" Danny groaned, running a hand over his face, from forehead to chin. Aiden shrugged helplessly.

"It doesn't, we know that." Danny sighed, watching apprehensively as Flack joined them in the small layout room where Danny was once again going over the restraints.

"Child Services just called. Dear mom is out and on her way here. Courts ruled her 'rehabilitated' and they're letting her have custody again." Aiden's brow knit.

"You're kidding," she said absently, laying out another picture from the crime scene file Danny had beside the ties. Something wasn't adding up and she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Nope. She'll be here in a couple of days to pick up her remaining children." Flack's use of 'remaining' had Aiden thinking and the wheels turning, but she couldn't seem to get the thought to come to the forefront of her mind.

"A couple of days? That's fast," Danny commented, his hands going back to the cloth spread out over the table. Flack shrugged.

"We have those new plane things that get people places ASAP. Don't know if you've heard of them…" Flack's voice faded off as he left the room. Aiden looked up at Danny, smiling lightly when she caught the look on his face.

"He's just trying, you know," she stated, her eyes turning back to the pictures in front of her. Danny sighed.

"I know." They turned back to the work, minds completely in CSI-mode.

**

* * *

**

It wasn't until an ungodly hour of the next morning that Flack called, like he was known to do. Their prints had come back. Danny and Aiden raced into the lab for the results.

"So," Flack began, "prints were in the system." Aiden rolled her eyes as he held out the file. How he had the information before them still had them frustrated.

"Jesse Emond? His DNA is XY," Danny said unnecessarily.

"XY?" Flack stood slightly confused for a moment before the meaning of the words hit him. "Our original DNA on the rim was female." Aiden nodded, pulling the glass out of the evidence box to her left. She and Danny had remembered to pick it up on their way by the locker with the intention of combing every piece of it once they had their print results. The collected prints were black with the powder still clinging to them. Delicately, she placed her hand over the prints and scrunched her nose at the slightly awkward handling.

"This doesn't fit."

"Your fingers are too small," Flack suggested, but Aiden shook her head.

"Can't be. My fingers are just like any other woman's fingers, just the ridge detail is different. This position's awkward for holding this," Aiden replied, demonstrating her point.

"Planted prints? Why would anyone need to plant prints?" Flack asked. Danny took the glass from Aiden's fingers with a thoughtful look on his face.

"And how did they know to plant someone in the system?" His question was a statement, but something they were going to have to address sooner or later. Aiden sighed.

"Let's try this again."

**

* * *

**

Aiden returned to her apartment that night, sans Danny for a change, and flopped heavily on her couch. Her mind was racing with results and possible scenarios. It didn't make sense that the prints on the glass were so different from the DNA on the rim. There would be no reason for there to be a third person there, no was their evidence to prove it. Instead, they were hitting a whole bunch of dead ends that were putting Aiden on the edge of her patience. She'd just lifted her hands to her head with the intention of massaging out the sudden migraine she found there – and having decided to take a nice warm bath -- when her phone rang.

"Burn," she answered tiredly.

"Good. You listen here, young lady, I will not take this from you. You are acting childish and it does not look good on you." Aiden groaned loudly at the sound of her mother's angry voice. Vaguely, she could hear her father in the background trying to get her mother to settle down and speak rationally, but Aiden knew Patricia was too far gone for that.

"I will not take your insolence, nor your neglectful behaviour." Aiden's eyebrows hit her hairline as she trudged to the bathroom and turned on the water for the tub.

"Neglectful behaviour?" she parroted. "I'm neglectful?"

"You speak with your brother regularly and you and your father get a long just fine, but you are only angry and insolent with me." Aiden rolled her eyes, thankful Patricia couldn't see.

"Did you ever think of why that was, Mother?" she asked sweetly.

"It doesn't matter why! You are still my daughter and I deserve and expect to be treated with the same respect a mother should get from her daughter."

"First, it helps when the mother is kind, gentle and loving to the daughter from her birth and second, it helps if the mother acknowledges the daughter is even present in her mother's life," Aiden shot back acidly. Patricia sputtered on the other end of the phone for a moment and Aiden braced herself for the inevitable onslaught.

"I have been nothing but accommodating for you since the minute you could talk. You had the best of everything, young lady and I deserve the respect for that!"

"You deserve credit for putting me through the best nanny system a girl could ask for and the best schools you could find, but you certainly don't deserve the respect a mother should get from her daughter. Not after putting me through all of those nannies and cutting me off from my own father."

"Your father was a busy man, Aiden, you know that."

"And yet you made sure every time he was home that he was locked up in his study or right by your side! I had as much of a right to spend time with my dad as you did as his wife."

"That's what this is all about? Your father?" Patricia sounded awed and offended. Aiden had to hold onto her temper.

"If it was about Dad, I would have confronted this before now. This isn't about who was around, it's about who wasn't."

"Who wasn't? I was there, you ungrateful child!"

"We never did any mother/daughter things, Mother, you know that. All you cared about was your societies and your titles, never your children." Aiden bit her tongue after that, reigning in the temper she could feel burning in the back of her throat. Patricia, apparently, was in shock, for she hadn't responded to the remark about being a neglectful mother. Aiden took a deep breath.

"Look, you aren't going to believe this coming from me, but Dad wanted to separate. _You have to change_. You can't pretend that everything's perfect when it's not, you can't expect things to just resolve themselves because they don't. You have to work at relationships, marriages, families, you can't just leave them alone once you have them and expect them to always be there. You have to nurture the relationships and reach out to the people you care about." Aiden paused, collecting her thoughts.

"James and I convinced him to try again, to spend time with you and remind himself why he married you in the first place. Think about what you're throwing away by being too wrapped up in what goes on in your little universe to notice things like an estranged husband and a daughter you don't talk to at all." The end of Aiden's monologue was met with silence and the shock was almost palpable through the phone line. With another deep breath, Aiden spoke again.

"Don't call until you've figured out your priorities." She hung up. After allowing herself a few minutes to settle her mind and recall the conversation in detail, she slowly dialled her brother.


	13. Dysfunctional Families

**Chapter 13**

_Dysfunctional Families_ **

* * *

**

"James here," he answered, obviously preoccupied.

"I just got off of the phone with Mother and didn't scream the whole time." Aiden knew that was enough to get her brother's attention, no matter what he was doing. Sure enough, the noises in the background died down as he left the room he was previously in. From the noises, and checking the time, Aiden figured it was his Monday football with his friends.

"Sorry, football," he explained, and Aiden smiled at the predictable nature of her sibling. "I couldn't here that well, but I thought I heard you say something about getting off the phone with Mom and didn't yell at her."

"So to speak."

"That doesn't help me, Aid."

"She called up in arms about the way I've been treating her since she's been in New York. We yelled for a bit and I let slip that Dad was thinking of splitting with her."

"I'm sure that went over well," James said sarcastically. Aiden allowed herself a small smile.

"I don't think she was shocked by that, but what came after. I've never been that calm, talking to her."

"I know. How did it end?"

"I hung up on her, sort of. She wasn't sure what to say so I told her to call when she had her priorities organized. I don't know what that means, exactly, when put in terms of Mother, but… I'm sure she can find out something." Her brother was quiet for a few moments, taking in what she'd just said.

"How do you feel?"

"Partly like throwing a party and partly like curling up in a ball and dying. Though in the midst of that, surprisingly calm and content. Not satisfied, but definitely constructive," she answered carefully, deliberately speaking slowly.

"Congratulations, Aid. I think you might be starting to put the past behind you," Aiden smiled slightly.

"Just thought I'd let you know. I'll let you get back to your game," she said after a few minutes of silence.

"Thanks. Call me."

"Always."

**

* * *

**

Danny was already in the lab when Aiden came in the next morning, his body already facing a computer. She stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her chin on his shoulder for a moment.

"You okay?" he asked, his eyes still glued to the screen in front of him.

"Peachy. What'cha doing?" Aiden replied.

"Running Chantale Parker through the databases. The rehab centre said they didn't have anyone under that name currently or previously staying there." As Danny finished, a beep emitted from the machine and the screen flashed.

"That's what I'm talking about. Chantale Parker… clean record… currently employed with NYPD, undercover missions… says she just spent the last eight months undercover in DC, not in rehab." Aiden's eyebrows hit her hairline.

"Flack's going to want to know about this," she said, already flipping open her phone. Before she could get her fingers dialling the number, Adam, the NY lab DNA tech, poked his head in the room.

"You guys are going to want to see this." Danny and Aiden followed Adam through the maze of halls to his DNA lair. From his desk, he lifted a file filled with sheets of paper and logged under their case number.

"Results?" Aiden asked unnecessarily.

"Yeah. The DNA from the blood matches your vic, but that's not the thing. Look at the DNA from both glasses, the one you know is Marcie Parker's and the unknown." Holding the sheets for Danny to read over her shoulder, Aiden's gaze darted from one page for another.

"Seven alleles in common?" Aiden asked, puzzled.

"So sister finds out about auntie killing her daughter? Makes the mistake assuming it's auntie and decides on revenge?" Danny threw out, talking quietly into her ear. Aiden shivered slightly against him and she could almost feel the smile growing over his face.

"Plausible," Aiden agreed. "Thanks Adam."

**

* * *

**

Flack found them later that afternoon, having been out and about chasing things down for other cases. They'd called him about the DNA results as soon as they could.

"Chantale Parker picked up her children at CS earlier. She's in interview 1 waiting for us to talk to her about her dead sister. You ready?" Aiden nodded, standing. Danny followed.

"We're not mentioning the DNA results," Danny said softly before they entered the room. "Don't spook her." Flack nodded and they all entered.

"Ms. Parker," Aiden greeted softly. "I'm sorry, for both of your losses."

"My baby girl," Chantale said softly, looking down at her wringing hands. "I knew I shouldn't have taken that mission, but it was good for the kids to have the money. I trusted Marcie." Aiden looked down at her own hands.

"What can you tell us about your sister?" Flack asked gently, pushing a glass of water towards the crushed looking woman.

"Never really had the interest for anything. She never did much in school or anything like that," Chantale answered, taking a sip of the water and putting the glass back down.

"My parents were always worried that she wasn't going to do anything with her life. I tried to help, but I got involved in… other things. Marcie slipped out of my focus." She sniffled slightly. Aiden had to hand it to the woman. If she killed her sister for her daughter's revenge, she was doing a brilliant job of acting the devoted, caring, devastated sister.

"Can I go?" Flack nodded and Chantale left. Immediately, Danny pounced on the glass, pulling out a pair of gloves and an evidence bag. Having secured the glass in the bag they left the room, heading back to the lab.

**

* * *

**

The fact that the DNA on the glass matched the DNA off of the wine glass at the crime scene didn't surprise either Aiden or Danny. The plausible situation Danny had thought up really wasn't a stretch of the imagination. Aiden knew Danny was worried. A mother killing her sister over her daughter's death involved a lot of loving family members, things Aiden wasn't particularly positive she had. For the second night, Aiden had asked to stay by herself and called her brother.

"Better timing. I was getting bored watching Kay's dance rehearsal." Kay was James' eight-year-old daughter.

"Yeah, well, can't say this is a happy call."

"What's up?" James' voice was confused and concerned.

" The case I'm working on… A mother probably killed her sister over her daughter's death."

"And you don't think Mom would do that for you?"

"They have so much, Jamie. A mother who loves them, an aunt who worried, even if she didn't show it… They're going to be put into the system, with no family and probably split up to different foster homes."

"You can't identify with that," James stated, sounding confused.

"Not directly, but I had to find new parents and siblings at school because I didn't have any at home. Isn't it close to the same thing?"

"Close, but Aiden, you had the opportunity of coming home whenever you wanted and Dad and I visited." Aiden took a deep breath, curling further into the corner of her bed where she'd moved to call him. She was in the tightest ball she could possibly curl herself into.

"I don't want them to be alone," she whispered finally.

"There's things you aren't telling me," James stated, sounding firm.

"Even with friends, Jamie, you had to know I was lonely at school. I drew, that's how I got away from it all. I could pretend that I was the happy little girl in the pictures…"

"I'm sorry, I should have done something sooner." Aiden sighed. Sure, when she'd called part of her had wanted to hear him apologize, wanted someone to take credit for her failed childhood, but she was probably as much to blame as any of her family. They didn't reach out, but neither did she.

"No, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I should have said something to Mother when I figured it all out." She let out a heavy breath. "Look, you go back to watching Kay dance. She needs her Daddy to say she's beautiful."

"Aiden?" James stopped her before she hung up.

"Yeah."

"I'll find some way to keep their whereabouts known. We'll make sure they go to a great home," he promised. She took comfort in the words, even if she knew it was physically impossible.

"Thanks Jamie," she said softly.

"Any time. Love you."

"Love you too."


	14. Band Aid

**Chapter 14**

_Resolution _

**

* * *

**

The idea that Chantale Parker had killed her sister had closed the case up nicely, especially since the woman had all but admitted it when they piled up the evidence against her. The confession made their lives so much easier than Aiden could have ever hoped. Now, she purposefully walked through the lab, heading towards the office of her boss and friend.

"Mac?" she asked, knocking softly. He waved her in, not looking up from his current file until she'd taken a seat in front of him.

"Excellent work on the Parker case," he told her without preamble. Aiden smiled.

"Thanks. Listen, I need some time off." Mac only raised an eyebrow and Aiden took a deep breath.

"Family issues. We're working through a few things and I need the personal time." Mac nodded thoughtfully.

"It's not like you don't have the time saved up. Go ahead. How long do you need?"

"A week at least."

"Take two weeks. Personal time should be slow," he told her wisely. She allowed a small smile.

"Thanks, Mac."

**

* * *

**

It was ironic, the situation she was in now. No more than 2 days ago, Aiden would have flinched at the mere _idea_ of willingly talking to her mother, but the case had made her see some of the horrible things that could happen in a family. Thus, she was the one that initiated conversation again, unlike she'd told her mother earlier in the week. They sat as a middle-class, elegant restaurant, a neutral place for both of them, trying to figure out what went wrong. Patricia had been given a couple of days to think over Aiden's words on the phone before coming to talk to her. Now, she sat stoically as she and Aiden browsed the menus in front of them. Finally, after their orders had been taken, Patricia looked up at Aiden.

"I thought about what you said," she started, and Aiden could tell this was not going to be an easy conversation. "About your father's idea of separation." This startled the younger woman.

"Separation?" Aiden questioned, as normally as she could.

"I think he might have had the right idea," Patricia admitted. Aiden couldn't hide the surprise this time.

"Right idea?" Patricia wasn't meeting Aiden's eyes.

"We have been growing apart from each other for a while now. Maybe it is for the best," she explained. Aiden blinked in surprise before shaking her head.

"There is no way I convinced Daddy to work at this only to have you give up," she stated, leaving no room for argument. Patricia's head snapped up to me the identical eyes of her daughter.

"What?"

"I convinced Daddy to work at it, that all of your years of marriage shouldn't be for nothing and it seems pointless to drop it now. And don't pull the 'I don't love him' idea on me. I may be a little bit bitter about the relationship but you make him happy. That's what matters," Aiden said, confidence ringing with every word. Patricia gazed at her daughter for a few moments, idly wondering how she could have missed so much of this woman's life.

When she'd called, part of her had wanted to pick a fight, needing someone to blame for the problems in her life and Aiden had been the closest and most logical answer. Now, as she looked at her daughter across a small table, she realized that she'd missed a lot of important things. Most importantly, she'd missed her only little girl growing up into the strong woman she saw in front of her. The back of her mind understood that Aiden had probably seen so much more in her line of work that made her value what she had that much more and it had taken the longest time for the rest of her to do so. With a deep breath, Patricia began to speak.

"The day you were born, your father was in love with you. The nurses all but had to pry you from his arms. He took two weeks off of office work just to see you in those weeks. You were his girl, through and through. I felt like I was playing second fiddle, and not to another woman but to my own daughter. I didn't think that it would have an everlasting horrible result on your life."

"In a way, it didn't," Aiden interrupted, finding her voice. She never expected the woman in front of her to outright admit to being jealous of her own daughter. Sure, she'd suspected it since day 1, but that didn't mean it wasn't a shock. Patricia looked a little confused at Aiden's words.

"A lot of things could have been different. I'm not sure that I would be the same person I am today without going through all of the things I did."

"I doesn't matter. You were my daughter." Aiden looked down at the table cloth. Her days of paperwork had given her a chance to think of her reactions to her mother and the case she'd just finished. Chantale Parker hadn't gotten all of the information from the case of her daughter's death and had killed her sister – a woman she hated from the sounds of it – to avenge Shannon's death. It put into perspective her own family and the lengths she'd gone to distance herself from the same woman she was sitting by. Things had changed her views.

"Are," she said. Patricia looked up in puzzlement.

"I _am _your daughter," Aiden said softly, putting emphasis on the 'am'. Patricia blinked.

"You hate me." Aiden shook her head.

"I don't know you. I looked for someone to blame for the neglect and you were the most obvious culprit. I didn't look at everything, I didn't think about everything. More importantly, I didn't realize the full meaning of 'family'," Aiden replied. Patricia looked away for a minute.

"You father and I are going on a trip – I'm assuming it's the one he was planning on for reconciling our marriage – and we've already invited James, Catherine and the kids along," she began. Aided nodded diplomatically.

"That's good."

"We want to make it a family vacation." Aiden smiled fondly.

"I hope you have fun," she said sincerely.

"Family, Aiden. That includes you… if you'll come." Aiden's eyes widened. This was the proverbial olive branch, the one they probably needed to start patching up their relationship. She smiled.

"When do we leave?"


	15. Correspondence of Lovers

**Chapter 15**

_Correspondence of Lovers_

**

* * *

**

_Danny,_

_After all this time, I never thought I'd be one to leave without a word, but my family is going on vacation. I talked to Mac and he granted me a few extra weeks of leave. Heaven knows I have a hell of a lot of time saved on the books. I promise to talk to you soon._

_Aiden_

The note was taped to his door when he returned home one night. He knew Aiden had 2 weeks leave and wondered what she had planned to do with that time. Part of him believed she would be going back with her parents since she'd mentioned something over paperwork about wanting to patch up her relationship with her mother. The note told him of an unknown vacation. And she never mentioned how long she was going to be away…

Danny entered his apartment and sat with the note on his lap, looking at the familiar handwriting of the woman who had easily and swiftly stolen his heart. With a silent prayer to keep her safe, Danny moved to the shower with the hope of washing off that day's dirt, grime and death.

**

* * *

**

_Hey you,_

_Thought I'd e-mail you now that I have a few minutes to myself. Its been heavy working at all of this familial relationship stuff. Don't worry, we're all still alive and I definitely haven't killed my mom yet. Yeah, my mom. Can you believe it? I'm not calling her Patricia or Mother like I did a couple of weeks ago. _

_Hope your safe. I miss you_

_Aiden_

**

* * *

****Aiden,**

**Glad to hear you're safe and doing well. Congratulations on patching things up with your mother. I'm proud of you. **

**Flack's been up my rear on where you are. Remind me that you owe me big for dealing with his constant whining of not having someone to annoy as well as you. Mac and Stella are constantly working together now… I think they just want me to shoot one of them for constantly putting me with your temp. Not that Isabelle is horrible at her job or anything, just annoyingly anal.**

**Miss you**

**Danny**

**

* * *

**

_Danny,_

_Frustration's a pain, but I hope you're not showing the newbie the ropes Danny-style. The poor girl will never want to come back! Maybe she can be a permanent part of the team, even when I come back? Don't pick on her too bad, okay? For me?_

_My niece, Kay, actually ran off on her parents today. Catherine almost had a heart attack when she turned around and couldn't find her. It's not like Kay can't take care of herself, but Catherine's a little bit of a paranoid mother. I think she's worried Kay won't come back or something. I don't know why. I speak from experience when I say I don't think Kay could leave what she has._

_It's been nice, Danny, really nice. I'm not fighting with Mom any more and I'm not fighting with Daddy over fighting with Mom. They're working on their relationship too, which gives me the chance to spend time with my favourite niece and nephew. I'm starting to feel like part of a family._

_Hugs,_

_Aiden_

**

* * *

****Aid,**

**Kay's the dancer, right? The one you mentioned you were going to the recital for and invited me along? Anyway, I'm happy for you. Sounds like your family's really making progress towards making up for lost time. **

**Mac got caught in the crossfire of a shoot out today. Don't worry, he's fine, but I swear Stella was going to kill him anyway for putting himself in that situation. It would have been amusing if I wasn't terrified of an angry Stella.**

**Hope your still happy,**

**Danny**

**

* * *

**

_Danny,_

_I'm incredibly happy. This means a lot. _

_Aiden_

**_

* * *

_**

Aiden stepped off the plan in the airport and took a deep breath of the New York air. She loved the vacation, but she was horribly glad to be home. There was no place like it, after all.

Ironically enough, her apartment wasn't her first stop. Checking the time as she exited the airport, she figured she had an hour before Danny would most likely be walking in the door to his apartment, ready for bed, or at least a beer and the television. With a smile, she hailed herself a taxi and rattled off Danny's address.

The cab ride was half an hour and Aiden wearily got out of the cab in front of the apartment complex. Unlocking the doors with her key – given to her by Danny after one of their rougher cases, just in case she wanted to talk – she stumbled up the stairs and into his apartment. She'd meant to clean it, make dinner, but all she could make her body do was collapse onto the couch and sleep.


	16. Changed Course

**Chapter 16**

_Changed Course_

* * *

Danny was exhausted as he made his way up the stairs to his apartment after shift. Aiden's leave had resulted in a little bit of a more taxing caseload on all of them and he was partially glad her weeks were up.

And he just missed her.

He unlocked the door to his apartment slowly, not for any particular reason other than his absolute fatigue. He went about his normal routine and was seconds from sitting down on the couch for some quality time with his sports channels when he noticed the body on the sofa.

Aiden.

He had wanted to do the chivalrous thing and pick her up at the airport, but apparently she had other ideas. He looked down at her fondly, looking at her peacefully sleeping face. She looked more relaxed than she had been before she left, less stressed. It suited her.

He shook her gently, too tired to work at moving her so he could have a seat too. Her eyes blinked open slowly and focused on him.

"Danny!"

"Hey," he responded, the tiredness in his voice.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she started, eyes wide. "There was a million and one things I was going to do before you got home…"

"Aiden?" She stopped talking.

"Let's just sit, okay?" She nodded, making room for him to sit and curling up against him.

"Talk to me," he requested, too tired to really press her.

"It was awesome, Danny. We've decided to find some way to get together every month, probably here because both Jamie and I are here."

"You really made progress."

"You have no idea. That was one of the few times I felt like I belonged, like that family was one I was supposed to be a part of and not one where I'd been a mistake." They fell into contented silence, both still partially asleep.

"What started it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The whole thing. Why did this parents thing bug you?"

"The case," she admitted, having puzzled over the reason herself while away. "There was a family that was so full of devotion, but not communication. Now the kids are going to foster families because their mother's in jail and the aunt they were staying with is dead."

"It hit home."

"Something like that. It made me look at my family and reorganize my priorities."

"You've thought a lot about this," Danny said, his hand running through the ends of her hair that trailed down her back.

"Had a little bit time," she responded in explanation.

"So family's a big part of your life now?"

"I'm hoping so." They fell into silence for a few moments, partly in exhaustion, partly in a serious lack of anything really to say. Nevertheless, the silence was comfortable.

"You know, Aid. I'm really proud of you."

"What?"

"I'm proud of you."

"What for?"

"Overcoming everything like this."

"It's still not perfect, you know."

"I don't think it's ever supposed to be perfect. If life was perfect, it would be boring," he responded. "Look and me and Louie." Aiden shivered at the mention of his brother, the man responsible for getting Danny mixed up in the Tanglewood Boys in the beginning.

"It's kind of nice to know the motivations behind what my mother did, though," she said, changing the direction of the conversation. Danny had never been completely comfortable with talking about his brother and she didn't want him to have to.

"Motivation?"

"She truly believed she was losing Dad to me. She couldn't handle the thought of being second best to her own daughter. I don't think she understood that we could both be with Dad, just in different ways."

"You think she gets that now?"

"Yeah. I think she knows I didn't want to take Daddy away from her now. I think things are starting to come to light."

"And you're going to keep working on it?"

"Yeah." That comfortable silence bloomed again as they sat, facing the blank television.

"I love you, you know," he said after a while. "I'm not totally sure when I knew, but I do." She didn't reply immediately and Danny wondered if she'd fallen asleep.

"You've been with me through this whole thing, supporting me, loving me… It probably would have been more awkward if I didn't love you back," she finally spoke up. "You're part of my family, Danny."

"Good. That's right where I want to be."

* * *

**_All right, all ye faithful, this is the culmination of just over a year of work. I apologize for this taking so long and I'm really sorry if this chapter sounded a little forced. I still hope you enjoyed it and I really want to thank everyone who stuck around to the end, regardless of how long it took me to post._**

**_Thanks,_**

**_Kavi Leighanna_**


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